


Life Eater

by WritersKitten



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Cold, Gen, Ice, Snow, Survival Test, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-10 16:03:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 21,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3296363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritersKitten/pseuds/WritersKitten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Germany has prepared a survival test for those who are fully recognized as a nation. He has thought of everything. Water-supply, shelter, food. Of course, no one questions him and just goes with the roll. At first, everything appears to be peaceful. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then, things that cannot be explained by logic starts happening. Ice starts spreading. Who will be the first to fall to the curse? And who will be the ones figuring out exactly what is going on?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hetalia (c) Himaruya Hidekaz  
> Plot (c) Katrine Laclyon
> 
> This was inspired by a nightmare I had during Christmas. Good luck figuring out exactly why I woke with a start in the middle of the night!  
> The POV will change from chapter to chapter, so you will have to stay alert and keep track of the different stories. Some characters might only appear once, while others may have their fates left hanging in the air.
> 
> I have made a cover for the story, which can be found at my user on deviantART. Or here, if you prefer --> http://katrinelaclyon.deviantart.com/art/Life-Eater-512101872
> 
> I hope you will enjoy this creation!

#  **Prologue**

Italy stared out into the darkness. He squinted, trying to see past the first rocks. There was no moon tonight. No stars. Nothing to enlighten the strange place in which he was. Snow lay deep everywhere. Behind him, water washed up on the shore with a calm, even rhythm. He sniffed the air carefully. Spruces. Spruces and salt water. That was the only thing he could smell. His fingers, however, were already frozen from a cold draft that pushed past him, in across the landscape.

“Are you sure about this, Germany?” he asked, not daring to advance into the unknown terrain.

“It is only a survival test”, Germany replied calmly while inspecting some rucksacks.

Italy swallowed, exchanging glances with Romano. For once, he did not smile, and all he managed was a faint, “Heh, of course.”

“This is stupid, potato bastard”, Romano snapped, blowing his curl out of his face.

Germany picked up a rucksack and straightened, turning to the people who were gathered there. In addition to Italy and Romano, there were Japan, China, England, America, France, Spain, Prussia, the Baltics, Poland, Russia, Belarus, Greece, Turkey, Hungary, Austria, Romania and the Nordics, and a whole lot more. Actually, when Italy looked closer, everyone were there, except the micro nations.

Italy let his gaze sweep across the gathering once more, unable to understand how they were all supposed to survive in each others company for more than a few hours.

“We are to spend three days out here, doing our best to survive”, Germany barked. “Understood?”

Half-hearted agreements.

“Understood?” he barked again.

“Yes!” came a louder response.

“Good. Now, I have prepared one rucksack for each of you. In it, are the basics of your survival here; matches, axe, knife, food, a bottle for water, blanket, light sleeping bag, map, compass, flashlight, basic medics and rope. I hope you listened to my advice, and put on warm clothes, because I have not included extra.”

Some mumbling ran through the crowd. “What if we don’t manage?” Austria questioned.

“I will come to that part now”, Germany replied in a factual tone. He pointed further down the shore, at safe distance from the waves. “If you should be incompetent of completing these three days, there is a hut there. That is where I will stay. You return there and I will put you on a training program for the remaining time.

“On the end of the third day you will all return there to sum up how well you did. It will be judged by your appearance, as well as where you went, what you did there, and how much is left of what I put in the rucksack. Therefore, I will hand out a notebook and pencil for each of you to write a summary at the end of each day.” In the twilight, he scanned the crowd.

Italy was sure his gaze rested on him for a little longer than the others, and he was also sure he understood why. There was very little chance Italy would manage those three days. Even the thought of it made him shiver.

“Any questions?”

Deep silence had settled, as everyone apparently were realizing that there was no way back now. Not unless they wanted to give up before they had even began. A hand shot up.

“Lithuania.”

“Will we go alone?”

“No. I have divided you into groups.”

A sigh of relief went through the crowd.

“But I expect more from all of you.” He then handed out the rucksacks. The first thing many of them did, was search it to see exactly what was inside.

“This is no good!” France exclaimed. “Here is only beans, meat, rice, bread and chocolate! Should there be no fruits and vegetables here? Maybe a salad?”

“Beans, meat, rice, bread and chocolate will give you energy to keep going for a long while”, Germany replied. “You can have it for breakfast, and keep up for hours, unlike fruits and vegetables. Other complaints?”

Silence.

“Good.” From a pocket, he brought forth a piece of paper that had been neatly folded. “I will read up the groups, and I will only read it once. Pay attention to who your teammates are, and I do not want any complaints this time.”

Clenching his rucksack, Italy waited to hear who he would be on team with.

Once Germany reached the bottom of his list, he ordered them to gather in their groups. Italy was pleased to find how he was teamed up with Romano and Spain. Apparently, Romano was not as pleased.

“How to fuck are we going to do this?” he snapped. “None of us has any clue of what to do in a freaking ice field!”

“I have trained with Germany”, Italy reminded him lightly.

“But you never remember important stuff.”

That stung. It was true, he did not always remember it the second he needed it, but give it a little time to think and he would know exactly what to do. Italy put on his best smile. “I’m sure we will manage.”

Germany handed out the notebooks and pencils, then sent them off and headed towards the cabin, out of sight too soon.

Italy turned to his companions. “Let’s get going!” He was about to head into the unknown landscape, when Romano took a firm grip of his shoulder, forcing him to stay with them. “What?”

From his backpack, Spain had found the map and compass, as well as the flashlight. “Before we go anywhere, we should make sure we know where we are”, he explained and knelt on the snowy ground, folding out the map before them. Then he turned on the flashlight. At first, Italy had to squint to see something at all, but when his eyes adjusted to the light, he was able to make out the map.

It appeared they were on an island. At their side of the island, the shore was even, but at the opposite side, deep scars in the landscape disrupted it, as though pieces had fallen out and been devoured by the sea. If they headed left now, past Germany’s cabin, there was a hill, or more like a small mountain. A small lake lay to their right, and a river ran in between.

Around them, groups were starting to depart. Switzerland and Liechtenstein were the first ones to disappear, soon followed by the Nordics and Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

“This should be a way to fresh water”, Spain said, pointing out the river. “Which means the lake is, unlike the sea, not salty. Going there means we will at least have something to drink. Reading the map, there should be forest surrounding all of it, and with the axe we will be able to make a shelter.” Placing the compass at their map, he found what direction they should go in, before folding up the map, pleased with himself. When he took the lead, for once none of the Italian brothers complained.


	2. Spain

#  **Chapter 1**

_Spain_

_Today, we have tracked between two and three kilometres in airline. We started off by the shore, along with the other twelve groups. I am actually surprised that Roma let me lead the whole way. He did not even question my leading-abilities once, which is a great development from his part._

_Anyway, nothing much happened along the way. At least once I think we nearly crossed paths with one of the other groups, because I am certain I heard England scolding America and Australia a few times. I wonder how everyone is managing…_

_Ah, now I am side-tracking again. We took few breaks along the way, and somehow Roma managed to catch a hare. I really have no idea where his hunting skills came from. Right now, Italy is trying to make a decent meal out of what little we have, while Roma is trying his hand on fishing. As I thought from the beginning, the lake is fresh water. We can drink it, boil food in it and use it to clean up with. Currently, we are stationed at the western side of the lake. It is still dark and cold. I am glad we managed to make a fire, but I wonder when we will see the sun._

 

“Oi! Bastard! What do you think?”

Spain glanced up from his journal, finding Romano standing before him, holding one large and two smaller fish in his hands. He looked quite pleased with himself, even though it was just as clear he was trying not to.

Spain laughed. “Good job, Roma. I’m sure this will serve us well.”

Romano nodded and trotted over to where Feliciano was doing his best with the dinner. A quick conversation in Italian passed between them, which ended with Italy laughing and patting Romano’s arm lightly, while Romano’s cheeks turned red – and it was not from the cold.

 

_I know it is too early to get our hopes up, but I think we are going to manage this. Maybe we won’t be the best ones, but at least we will manage!_

_Now we will just have to put up a proper shelter, huddle together and we will be able to rest. I feel that I am looking forward to resting. But, despite how tired we are, we will probably have to switch on watching the fire so it doesn’t go out. It would be boring, freezing to death on a survival test!_

 

Spain chuckled to himself and closed the journal, stuffing it into the rucksack, together with the pencil. He got up and headed over to the fire from where a delicious smell of fried hare was rising. He glanced down at the food. Italy had been resourceful enough to remove the medics from the metal box they had been packed into, and used the box to boil a small portion of rice for each of them. “It looks delicious”, he complimented.

“When did Italian cooking not look delicious?” Romano questioned from the lake where he was sitting, cleaning the fish.

“When you burned the pasta?” Spain offered with a laugh.

“That was an accident!” Romano exclaimed. “I- ai! Look what you made me do, bastard!” Romano got up, dropping his knife and the fish in the snow, and stalked back to them with his thumb in his mouth.

“I’m sorry”, Spain said. He really was, but the smile he held probably said otherwise. The look at Romano’s face was adorable. Romano got his medics and fumbled with the lock, trying to pry it open with his left hand while holding it. Spain shook his head with a small sigh and quickly crossed the area between them, taking the box out of Romano’s hands. “Here, let me.” Easily he opened the box and brought forth a sticking plaster. He took Romano’s hand and carefully wiped the cut of blood, before quickly applying the sticking plaster. “There you go. Be more careful, okay?”

“It was all your fault!” Romano claimed, already heading back to the lake to continue with the fish. “If you hadn’t distracted me, I wouldn’t have cut myself!”

Spain chuckled and picked up the axe that was laying by the fire. “I’ll go get some suitable logs to make us a shelter. Try not to get killed while I’m away!” He laughed and waved at them as he headed in between the trees.


	3. Iceland

#  **Chapter 2**

_Iceland_

_I am exhausted. It was Norway, Sweden and Finland who decided the route. Denmark tried to help, but it turns out he is horrible at reading maps. Really, he thought the contour lines at the map meant that there was a deep valley of some sort. How is it possible misunderstand that badly? Even I got it, and I have had far less experience with tracking than any of them!_

_… I hope Norway never reads this. He will never let me go anywhere alone again._

_Anyway. From the shore, we headed up this slope until we found a river. The rest of the time, we have spent following this river. At one point, it split in two, but, thankfully, the river was narrow further down, so we could easily jump over. On the other side, we followed the river uphill for a long while, until it became really steep. At that point, Norway had taken the lead, always two meters before the rest of us, scurrying back and forth. When he disappeared out of sight, I have to admit I was scared for some moments – who knows, he could have tripped and hit a rock or something! Then he emerged, saying he had found shelter. Turns out, he found a really nice cave. I have no idea how he knew it was here, but I am convinced that was what he was looking for the entire time._

_Sweden and Denmark went to cut down some smaller trees so we could use it both for a fire and light, and to partly hide the entrance and give us more shelter from the cold weather. Finland says a storm is approaching, and I have to admit I agree with him._

 

Racket from the entrance made Iceland glance up from his journal. Sweden and Denmark had returned, and the racket was their doing as they dropped at least eight enormous logs onto the cave floor. Half the length of the logs still poked out of the cave.

“You think this’ll do?” Denmark asked, straightening and inhaling deeply.

Sweden nodded and they got to the work of removing all the branches and cutting up the wood.

 

_As for Finland himself, he has gone with Norway to hunt and fill our bottles. It’s a good thing this cave is so close to the river, so we don’t have a long walk whenever we have to go there. In fact, had it not been for Denmark and Sweden making such a noise with the logs, I’d be able to hear the water running._

_I have nothing to do – well, except writing in this journal. Looking over what I have written so far, I really hope Norway won’t read it. Maybe it would be better if I tore out this page and rewrote all of it…_

“Probably”, Iceland muttered under his breath and scanned the page once more. Then he shut the notebook and placed it in the bottom of his rucksack. He got up and headed over to Sweden and Denmark so he could gather the branches they had removed. This could be used to start a fire. “Will you chop up some of that so we can use it to heat up this place?” he questioned, already holding a fair amount of branches.

“Sure thing!” Denmark replied, taking a short break from the work. “Is there any water left, or did Nor and Fin take all the bottles?”

“No, they took all the bottles”, Iceland confirmed.

“Too bad. Let’s hope they’ll be back soon, ‘cause I’m starting to get hungry!” With that, Denmark picked up his axe and returned to work.

Iceland gathered a few more branches, before heading to the middle of the cave and lighting a fire. The wood was wet and for a long while, the only result was smoke. Even when he had used a little too much of his journal to try lighting a fire, it did not work. He had nearly given up, when a the fire caught one of the branches. His hope rose again, and he carefully blew at the flame. For a second, it seemed his effort was fruitless, but then the fire got a better grip. Soon enough, the air was slowly turning warm.

Sweden and Denmark had covered up half of the entrance with the logs, securing it with some of the rope. Now they were both working at top speed to chop up the rest of the wood. Once it was done, they carried it to the fire so it could lay close by and dry. That way, it would be much easier to keep the fire alive, and it would not smoke as much as it currently did.

*

“I see you’re getting cosy.”

Iceland jumped and pulled away from the voice by his ear. Norway was leaning over him. “What the hell? When did you get in?”

“Just now. You were dosing off.”

Iceland glared up at Norway, but none of them said anything more as Norway got to the job of preparing some red meat.

“Where’s Finland?” Iceland questioned after a while.

“By the river. Sweden is also there.”

First then the younger noticed how quiet the cave had become. All of the wood lay stacked by the fire, and the axes lay beside. “And Denmark?”

“Getting more wood.”

He nodded. He could already feel how it was later, as much colder air was coming in through the half-covered opening. He pulled a little closer to the fire and added more firewood to it to keep it going.

It did not take long before Denmark re-joined them, carrying more logs. He was drenched in sweat, but did not seem to mind it that much. Instead, he appeared very comfortable with how they were faring. He proceeded with reducing the logs to more firewood.

Shortly after, Finland and Sweden also came and joined them. Finland helped Norway finishing the meal, and Iceland had to admit it did not turn out as bad as expected – even though it was not as tasty as the meal they would have had if they had had a little salt.

They ate with their fingers, and there were no plates to use. The only water they had, came from their bottles. Iceland sat at his place, his blanket around his shoulders to provide some heat to his back. Sweden and Finland were snuggled close under both their blankets, while Denmark and Norway were sprawled out at each their side of the fireplace. Both held content expressions – Denmark’s with a smile, Norway’s with warm eyes. It was a long time since his brother had appeared that… carefree.

“Nearly like old days, eh?” Denmark commented.

“Mhm”, Sweden and Norway agreed.

“Those times were different. Do you remember, Ice?”

“No”, Iceland mumbled, shaking his head.

Denmark grinned. “No, you probably don’t. You were still very little back then, always hiding under Norway’s cloak.” He laughed, and Norway joined in.

Sweden chuckled softly. “Those were good times”, he agreed.

“Getting up when we felt like, never staying in one place for long”, Norway added. “I never though I would miss it.” A rare smile was at his face. “But I could never go back to a life without coffee.”

“And the hunts!” Denmark continued. “And the aftermath.”

“How so?” Finland asked. He had not spent as much time with them as Iceland had, and probably remembered very little of it.

Denmark laughed out loudly. “Ah, let me enlighten you with a story… It was early spring, and the game had started coming out. The three of us had decided to try out the bows after a long winter. The hunt was good, and we took down no less than one elk and two hares. The elk was mine and Swe’s doing, while Nor got the small ones. He always had an eye for details – and still has.

“Anyway. The hares we took for ourselves, while the elk we dragged to the nearest village. The butcher there paid a decent price for it. How much gold was it, again?”

“Three”, Sweden replied.

“Right. So, for once we decided to allow ourselves a can of mead to each. Believe it or not, but for three gold we could get quite a lot at that time. We headed for the closest inn, and after only sitting around a table for some while, Nor and I were pulled into some sort of game with the other men there. It was possible for two to win, and we managed it. And do you remember the prize, Nor? Ah, what a wonderful night that was.”

“Indeed”, Norway agreed.

Finland laughed. “Well, weren’t you carefree back then. Had you no responsibility?”

“Only to each other”, Denmark replied. His eyes slid shut. “What a good life that was.”

Outside, they could hear the wind picking up speed. Finland got up from his probably comfortable place beside Sweden, and gathered the bottles. “I’ll go refill them. I’ll be back in a moment.”

“I’m going with you”, Sweden said and quickly got up. The two of them disappeared out of the cave.


	4. New Zealand

#  **Chapter 3**

_New Zealand_

_For once, it seems England has managed to come to an agreement with both America and Australia. Currently they are maintaining a somewhat peaceful relationship, which they agreed to try out these days when we have to stick together. Personally, I have no problems with dealing with America and Australia’s somewhat reckless and obnoxious personalities, nor do I have any problems coping with England’s moodiness._

_At the shore, Australia said he wanted to really explore the island, and so put up a long track for all of us to follow. It’s not that I mind it, but I am glad England persuaded him into shortening it down. Originally, England and I wished to camp at the edge of the forest where we it would be easy to find shelter and move about. As a compromise, we are currently situated just some hundred meters from the lake. We don’t see it, but we know it’s there._

_Here, the trees stand close together. It was England who found this place. It seems a little strange, that he just stumbled upon it, really. As far as I have seen, there are spruces everywhere but here. There is one large oak, heavy with snow. Thinking about it, there is a lot about England I don’t know. For example, how he knows how to make a good platform in a tree and turn it into a shelter? Of course, that was with help from Australia, but it is still a wonder to me, how he learnt it. We spent most of our rope doing it, but it feels safe, and we won’t be falling._

 

New Zealand glanced down from the platform, to where America and Australia were arguing of how to best prepare the rations that Germany had sent with them.

“Finally!” England exclaimed. Until now, he had been sitting calmly beside New Zealand, working with some branches and the remains of his rope. Now he was standing, proudly showing off a bow.

New Zealand carefully cleared his throat. “You do know how to use that one, right?”

“Of course I do”, England scoffed lightly. Carefully he tested the string, seeing just how far he could pull it. When he let go, it hit his jacket-covered arm. Apparently satisfied, England got three arrows he had made and easily climbed down from the tree.

“Iggy! Is that a bow you’ve got there?” America exclaimed, laughter in his voice.

“Talking ‘bout old-fashioned”, Australia mocked with a grin. “Does it even work?”

New Zealand leant over the edge, curious as to what would happen now.

England deliberately lifted the bow, knocked an arrow to it and aimed for a tree standing quite a distance off.

Both America and Australia laughed. “You think you’re going to hit that one?” Australia questioned. Their laughter got a short end when England let the arrow fly and it embedded itself in the stem. He hurried off to retrieve it, checking it for potential damage as he returned at a calmer pace.

“Dude, how did you do that?” America questioned.

New Zealand smiled to himself as he returned to his journal. He finished the descriptions of how the day had been so far, before he climbed down to join the rest at the ground. England had headed off to test out his new weapon, while America and Australia were still discussing this new turn of events.

“I knew he used to be some of a rebel when he was younger, but who knew he still could fire an arrow?” Australia wondered aloud.

“A precise shot, too”, America agreed. “Maybe I could get him to teach me? You have to admit it looks cool.”

“Totally.”

“How about you go fill our bottles again?” New Zealand questioned. “I’ll finish the food.”

“Oh man, sorry!” America exclaimed, realizing he had forgotten the food. “Of course!” He jumped to his feet, followed by Australia, and the two of them raced up the tree to get the bottles.

New Zealand stared after them for some moments, before shaking his head with a small smile and crouching down by the fire. At least the two of them had been onto something. The beans they were trying to cook, were laying in an emptied medics box by the fire, soaking in water. New Zealand shoved the box closer to the fire so it would absorb heat faster, then counted down three minutes. By then, America and Australia were disappearing in between the spruces, towards the lake with their arms loaded with bottles.

New Zealand moved the box a little away from the fire, just so the water would not start boiling, but it did not get cold either.

After about an hour, England emerged, looking quite pleased with himself for having shot down some sort of bird. New Zealand examined it, decided it would be safe to cook, and settled to pluck it and clean it. England settled beside him, and they had a small conversation of what Germany probably could expect of them from this survival test.

America and Australia barged in not long after, both loaded with bottles full of water. “Guess what!” America called. “France and Canada are camping at the southern side of the lake, Greece and Turkey at the northern side, and Spain and the Italians at the western.”

“We think Italy’s cooking hare or rabbit. At least it smells like it”, Australia elaborated. “And Romano caught some fish too. Maybe we should try fishing?”

“The more food we have, the more prone we are to surviving”, England replied. “So, if you manage to catch fish, that sounds good. I will stick to hunting.”


	5. Canada

#  **Chapter 4**

_Canada_

_It’s a wonder we have survived so far. Monaco and Seychelles don’t do much out of themselves, and are generally helpful. Cuba helps where he can as well, and even though he’s horrible at tracking and building shelters, at least he can swing an axe. As for France… I can’t say I hate or dislike him, and usually I can deal with him. Today, however, he has been a pain in the back. Had it not been for him, we would have continued further. But I guess the shore of this lake is good enough._

_The treeline goes nearly all the way down to the water, so our camp is about two meters into the forest. Thanks to the ropes Germany gave us, we have managed to put together a shed that will work well. Four walls and a slanting roof. The wall facing the lake has an opening which we cover with a door we made out of my blanket and branches. I am surprised at how well it works, and how much it has heated already. We don’t need to sit in our sleeping bags or huddle together to keep warm._

_After France for second time tried to approach Seychelles, I sent her and Cuba out to try their hands on ice fishing. They caught two brown trout of decent size, and somehow France managed to turn it into a meal. As for Monaco, she has made it her job to make sure our shed is wind-proof, as it seems a storm is approaching. In a moment, I will go out and see how she’s doing, as everyone are inside except her._

Canada shut his journal and left it with his sleeping bag, getting up.

“Where’re you going?” Cuba asked, glancing up from where he was sitting with his legs crossed, trying to absorb as much heat from the fire as possible.

“To bring Monaco in. She’s been out for a long while now.” Canada smiled gently and headed to the door, covering it properly once he was outside. He brought his flashlight out of his pocket and made his way around the shed, as she probably was at the opposite side, at least if the track was anything to go by.

Arriving at the other side, however, he found there was no Monaco. He continued the whole circle around the shed, and still there was no sign of her. He frowned, making another round, before starting to get really worried. He turned his flashlight to the forest around them and called her name.

He waited, turning his head slowly from side to side, trying to catch any sound at all.

“Monaco!” he called again.

Still no reply.

He let out a puff of air, then hurried back to the door and lifted it so he could see the others. “I have to go look for her.”

France began getting up, his usual smile giving away to a frown. “I’ll go with you.”

“You don’t know anything about this kind of weather”, he reminded France. “It would be better if you stayed here. All of you.”

For a second, it appeared nearly as though France was going to ignore this, but then he fell down at his place once more with a sigh. “Fine. My back wouldn’t do any good in the cold anyway.”

“Be back soon, or we will come looking for you”, Cuba said.

Canada nodded, putting the door back in place and heading out, searching for a track that could possibly lead him to his goal.

As it turned out, Monaco was not far away. Barely two hundred meters from the shed. She was sitting by a stem, looking quite at peace, a stack of branches laying beside her. In fact, Canada would have thought nothing of it, had it not been for her white skin and purple lips. He rushed forth and fell down beside her, placing the flashlight in the snow and taking her face in his hands.

“Monaco”, he said urgently.

Her lips parted slightly, but that was the only response.

With a grim expression he picked up his flashlight, gathered the girl in his arms and made his way back through the forest. It was nearly scary, how dark it had become. He could barely see Monaco’s face, even though it was less than thirty centimetres away from his own. Had it not been for the light provided by the flashlight, he would have been lost.

When the shed came into sight, he called for someone to open up. Making it to the front, he had to call again. Then the door was pulled aside and he was facing Seychelles. At the sight of Monaco, she gasped and questions began falling from her. Canada brushed them all aside and entered, placing Monaco as close to the hearth as he dared. Seychelles had followed him over, so he had to get up and shut the door before the whole winter fell into the shed.

“What happened to her?” Cuba asked.

“She is white as a ghost! Is she…” France glanced to Canada, as did the other two. For the first time, Canada fully realized how true his words had been. The others were lost without him. None of them had any experience in this bad weather – except him.

He took a deep breath and knelt beside Monaco. The other three of them automatically made space for him. He removed her coat and pressed an ear to her chest, listening. _Thump. Thump. Thump._ A small sigh of relief escaped him at the sound of her steady heartbeat. Pulling off his gloves, he began rubbing her arms. Then her neck and, to some extent, her chest.

Long minutes pass. Then she gasped, her eyes flying open. “What…?” she managed.

Canada sank back beside her, relief flooding through him and his eyes sliding shut for a moment. “I found you”, he then replied. “In the snow. Why didn’t you come back when you began freezing?”

She frowned slightly. “I… don’t know. Don’t remember.”

This made Canada frown. Something in the back of his mind was calling for attention. A memory from his early childhood when he lived with England. He forced it away and took the command of the shed. Soon the sleeping bags were lined up on both sides of Monaco, while Seychelles and Cuba were already huddled close to her, providing her with as much body heat as possible. France was heating water, and making sure it did not get too warm. Otherwise, it would cause an immediate black-out.

When he had forced Monaco to drink the slightly lukewarm water, he told France to take the first watch of the fire, while he laid down on the other side of Seychelles, joining their sleeping huddle.


	6. Lithuania

#  **Chapter 5**

_Lithuania_

_We crossed the island and made camp on the eastern side of the river, at the edge of the forest. Nothing bad has happened so far – meaning no injuries, no loss of companions, etc. – and we think we will be fine. Or at least we would have thought we would be fine, had it not been for the camp at the opposite side of the river. I hoped we would have three days without Russia’s constant loom over us, but even here in the wilderness he has found us._

_Latvia refuses to go outside, and has taken it upon himself to keep the fire alive and make food. Estonia is no good when it comes to the rough work, even though he knows the theories, and Poland… I’m not going to elaborate._

_Therefore, I do all the outside work. I try to bring in food, I extend our shelter, I keep watch. It is really hard work, and I know I am going to sleep like a rock tonight. Thankfully, Poland is constantly keeping me with company, chatting away. The only reason, really, why I am able to write in this journal, is because we have just finished eating, and they all insisted we stay inside in the night._

 

Lithuania glanced over to where Latvia was huddled close with Estonia, sniffling slightly in between. Estonia was working with his phone, apparently trying to make some adjustments to the electronic. Somehow he had managed to smuggle a pocket filled with all the most necessary things for that.

Poland was leaning against Lithuania’s shoulder, wrapped in both their blankets and doing his best to keep warm.

 

_But even though we appear to be doing fine, I am worried. The communication is not the best, and I think Latvia might be turning sick. He is constantly sniffling, and has not spoken for more than an hour now. Poland says nothing either, but I can feel how he is shivering._

 

Finally, Lithuania stopped writing, shut his journal and put it aside. “We should try to keep warm”, he said. The first thing someone had said since before dinner.

Taking the invitation, Latvia moved over to them, sharing their blankets and warmth.

“You too, Estonia”, Lithuania added, a slightly demanding edge to his voice.

Estonia joined them, and they sat there in silence, none saying anything else. The fire blazed red, orange and yellow, radiating heat that did not properly appear to reach in to Lithuania. It warmed his skin, but he still felt cold and hollow inside.

Poland shifted, snuggling even closer to them, muttering, “It’s cold.”

That settled it. “Then we have to move to regain warmth.” Lithuania got up and dragged Poland with him. When he let go of Poland’s arm, the shorter immediately fell back, pulling in under the blankets and shivering violently. Lithuania frowned. Usually Poland was the one to take the lead. This time, however, it would be the other way around. He pulled Poland up again, taking a firm grip of his hands. “Dance with me.”

Poland blinked, his shivers stopping for a brief second. “What?”

Lithuania pulled Poland in a circle. “Dance with me”, he repeated. “We have to keep moving to keep warm.”

For another few moments Poland was reluctant, but then he gave in and gladly joined the dance, which was basically just spinning and twirling, and anything to keep moving and stay warm. By the time they considered themselves warm enough, they were both short of breath, their cheeks flushed and their hair plastering to their faces.

Poland laughed breathlessly. “Thanks, that totally helped.”

Lithuania smiled in return, letting go of the other. He did not expect Poland to straight away grab his hands, taking another turn. Then yet another. Poland’s hands were cold in Lithuania’s, but he did not mind it as much as he should. Their shelter was so quiet. Even the wind outside appeared to have stilled.


	7. Belgium

#  **Chapter 6**

_Belgium_

"Do you have to smoke inside?” Belgium glared at her elder brother. “Isn’t it enough with a fire going already?”

Some moments passed while Netherlands simply regarded her, then he inhaled and blew the smoke in her face, before getting up and leaving their shelter.

Belgium coughed, waving a hand before her face, before returned to making food. Why Netherlands had begun smoking in the first place, was way beyond her. Barely a second later, Luxembourg emerged, holding up a dead hare by its ears. It was a sickly thin hare with a shrunken stomach and little meat on the bones.

“What do you think?” Luxembourg asked, grinning from ear to ear. “Not the best kill, but good enough, right?”

“Of course”, Belgium replied, smiling back at him.

He dropped the hare by the hearth. “So, I’ll just head out and clean my knife, then you can clean the hare.” He turned around and was on his way out, when Belgium cleared her throat and held up the hare. Questioningly, he turned back.

“Young man, I already have my hands full with providing this shelter of warmth and food. Maybe you should take some responsibility and actually clean the meat yourself?”

Luxembourg stuck out his lower lip slightly, lifting his chin. “I take lots of responsibility!”

“Given to you by your leaders”, Belgium corrected. “Everything else you leave to me and Netherlands, and Netherlands leaves it to me. So pull your share as well, even though it means getting your hands dirty.”

He frowned slightly, and looked as though he was about to give the puppy dog eyes, but then he sighed and took the hare. “Fine.”

Belgium smiled. “Thanks!”

“You are welcome.” He disappeared outside, leaving Belgium to the warmth of the fire. She sighed and lifted the lid of the medics’ box that currently held what could become their meal. Given the fact that she had unofficially been pointed out as the cook of the group, she had decided upon boiling a share of the beans. Give it another half an hour and it would probably be done.

The fire was starting to burn low. Belgium reached to get another piece of firewood, but there was nothing but air. Frowning slightly, she realized they were running out of firewood already. “Netherlands!” she called. “Could you chop up more wood?”

She listened for a second, waiting for a reply. When none came, she rose, grabbed her flashlight and peeked out of the shelter, scanning the surrounding area. Luxembourg was sitting by their stack of logs, trying to figure out how to deal with the hare. Netherlands should have been sitting beside him, helping him out.

“Have you seen Netherlands?” Belgium questioned.

“He went into the forest a while ago. Something about needing a little privacy.”

“A while ago?”

“About five minutes. He will be back soon.”

Belgium nodded and returned to the shelter, continuing with the food. Five minutes passed. Another five minutes. Ten. Twenty. Still Netherlands had not returned. Luxembourg came into the shelter, having managed to pry some meat off the hare.

“Is he out there?” Belgium asked, now worried.

Luxembourg shook his head.


	8. Liechtenstein

#  **Chapter 7**

_Liechtenstein_

_I am scared. Brother has been outside for a long while, and all I hear, is the wind howling. I do not know what to do. Earlier we came to this mountain. We followed the river all the time. Brother said this would be a good place, because we have a good view – or at least we would have, had it not been for the darkness. We found this cave made of cracked boulders. It was perfect, he said. All we needed more of, was firewood. So he went to cut down some. We have a very small fire. Barely enough to keep us warm, but brother says it is good either way._

_Brother went out a long while ago. He said he was just going to see how the weather was. He still has not returned. I am scared. What if he does not return? I can hardly find my way back to Mr. Germany’s cabin._

 

Liechtenstein glanced up the moment she became aware of movements by the door. Switzerland stumbled into the firelight, his face red from the freezing weather. He said nothing, only collapsed by the fire, throwing more firewood at it. He fumbled with his rucksack, trying to open it, but his hands were trembling violently, making it hard.

“Let me”, Liechtenstein said softly and reached out, opening the clasps with nimble fingers.

“The blanket”, Switzerland instructed.

She nodded, pulling it forth and holding it out to him. He packed himself into it, sitting close to the fire with his palms towards the flames, trying to absorb heat.

“Will we manage?” she asked.

Switzerland frowned slightly. “Of course”, he replied.

The moment he had said it, Liechtenstein knew it was a lie. He only wanted to be a good brother and make her feel safe, but it was a lie none the less. He did not know if they would manage or not. He did not know if they would stay warm or freeze to death.

She moved around the fire and sat beside him with her own blanket, laying her head on his shoulder. “We will manage”, she whispered, both for herself and him. 


	9. Japan

#  **Chapter 8**

_Japan_

_We had a hard time deciding where to put up camp. South Korea is harder to deal with than I expected. All over the place at once, constantly hanging off China’s back. Hong Kong is a little better – but not by much. He talks less, but constantly hums. At first, I have to admit it was rather creepy, how he in the darkness would start. The scary thing was that we never noticed when he began, but we noticed it after a while. And we did not see him either. At the moment, he is by the river with China, filling our bottles before we try to get some sleep._

_I should probably note that we are situated at the northern side of the last bend of the river before it runs into the forest. We are between 50 and 100 meters from it, so we hear it from our camp. The camp in itself is not that much either, since we have little experience with this kind of weather. However, China came up with the idea that we should use wood and our blankets to make something simple. It is not completely wind-proof, but I think it will work for the days we have to stay here._

 

“Japan! Korea! Help!”

Japan sat up straight, frowning. South Korea got up. They exchanged quick glances, before getting their flashlights and dashing for the river where the shout came from. The journal was left at the edge of the hearth, close enough to catch fire.

“Hurry up!”

Turning on the flashlight, Japan lit up the track before them. Barely thirty meters was covered when he came to a sudden stop. South Korea crashed into him and they both stumbled and fell. The flashlight slipped out of Japan’s hands, but he was quick to find it again and get up, again illuminating what had caused him to stop.

There, about halfway between the river and their shelter, stood China and Hong Kong. The bottles were gone. Hong Kong had one arm slung across China’s shoulders, but he appeared lifeless as China had to hold onto the arm, as well as wrap an arm around the younger’s waist.

“What happened?” Japan asked.

China shook his head. “We have to get him to the fire. Quick.”

Japan nodded and hurried to their side, taking Hong Kong’s other arm to support some of the weight.

“Is there anything I can do?” South Korea exclaimed, apparently getting over his shock, fear now seeping into his voice.

“Get the bottles”, China replied. “Come straight back to the shelter, aru.”

South Korea nodded and rushed off, leaving Japan and China to drag Hong Kong back. Thankfully, it took less than two minutes, even though Hong Kong did nothing to help. Despite the layers of cloth between them, Japan felt Hong Kong shiver violently. When they lowered him onto one of the sleeping bags, adding more firewood to the fire, they could for the first time take a proper look at him. His skin was as close to white as it could be, not even a tinge of red left in his cheeks. His lips were purple, already turning violet. Hair was plastered to his face, even that growing paler as they watched, and he appeared soaked.

“We have to get him out of the wet clothes”, China said, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as though he was trying to remember properly. “At least… Yes, that was what Russia said, aru.” Wasting no more time, he got Hong Kong into a sitting position and removed the jacket, then the zip-up hoodie. Thankfully, the red and white jersey underneath was only damp below the elbows, so they rolled it up. Japan noticed there was a small Icelandic flag sewn to the shoulder.

They pulled off the winter trousers, as well as the boots. Positive: Both were waterproof. Negative: Water had trickled inside the boots, making his socks wet. Hong Kong was in a terrible state. His limbs were stiff, and the fact that his shivering was ceasing probably meant no good.

Somehow, they managed to manoeuvre him into the sleeping bag. By then, South Korea had already returned and was sitting at the opposite side of the fireplace, his smile long gone and looking rather helpless.

Japan carefully placed his hand against Hong Kong’s neck. Still cold. “He is not absorbing heat.”

China nodded, a grim expression at his face, and took off his outdoor clothing. Then he slipped into the sleeping bag, wrapping his arms around Hong Kong. Sharing body-heat. Good idea. Japan placed China’s duvet jacket on top of them.

Now there was nothing to do but wait.

Japan sat beside China and Hong Kong. He picked up his journal and opened it at where he had left off, but he had nothing to write. His worried gaze constantly flickered to the younger nation. Hong Kong’s face was so pale and colourless. Not even his trainings with Germany had prepared him for something like this. Thinking back, he remembered a brief lecture of what do to in such cases, but everything had already been done.

“What exactly happened?” South Korea asked after long minutes of silence.

“I don’t know”, China replied. “First he was helping me, filling the bottles with water. Then he was suddenly falling. Straight into the river. Who knows what would have happened, had I not caught him, aru.”

“At least he is here”, Japan said, trying to calm the situation, despite his own feelings. “Both of you are.”

China nodded slightly.

A strangled sound came from the mop of hair that was Hong Kong.

Then another.

China was about to shift so Hong Kong could have some space, when Hong Kong snuggled closer to China’s chest, renewing his shivers. “T-thanks”, he managed hoarsely, his teeth clattering.

That was all he said.


	10. Taiwan

#  **Chapter 9**

_Taiwan_

"The corners up, not too much, just a little. Feel it stretching? Like that! Yes!”

“It does not work.”

“Come on, it’s easy! And you nearly had it this time, I swear!”

Vietnam rolled her eyes, got up from the fire and closed her jacket. “I will see you later.” Her face in a grim expression, she disappeared out of the cave they had found. Taiwan pouted after the other girl, not ready to give up at the smiling-practise yet.

“Leave her be”, Thailand said calmly, having fun while watching a frozen branch melting and catching fire. “She will return soon enough, ready to continue, na.”

Taiwan huffed. “I wish she would let go of that “not working”-attitude! Of course she’ll be able to smile! And she had it this time, too!” Forcefully she added another piece of firewood to the fire, making embers fly into the air.

“Watch it!” Thailand exclaimed, brushing small, glowing pieces off his sleeve.

From the corner he had claimed as his own, India shook his head with a sigh and returned to the journal.

Taiwan shot him a glare, before getting up and leaving the shelter. She lit her flashlight and scanned the snowy area outside. The river running past them on both sides, was loud enough to subdue any other sound, so all she could rely on was her sight and nose. She climbed out from between the two boulders by which they sheltered, and scrambled up to the top of the largest boulder. From there, when she turned around and used the flashlight, she could see where the river split in two just a few meters further up. The water reflected the light, appearing nearly like some sort of snake.

She shuddered slightly at the thought, already cooling down after her moment of heat a little earlier. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she tried to make out exactly what type of landscape was surrounding them. She knew they were at the bottom of some sort of hill – or maybe a small mountain – and she also knew that about a kilometre further up, some others were sheltering. Some of the European ones. Their English had been good, so either it was England’s group, or maybe the Nordics. They spoke well English too.

Her thoughts were cut short by a scream. Blood froze, as well as mind. Taiwan’s eyes widened slightly when she recognized the scream as one of pure terror.

“Taiwan! Vietnam!” Both Thailand and India had ran out of the cave and were now looking about wildly.

“I’m here!” Taiwan replied, making her way down from the boulder.

“Where is Vietnam?” India questioned.

They exchanged glances, before setting off into the cold snow-landscape in search of their fourth companion. The snow was deep and cold, and at the spot they had chosen, there were few trees. This should have made the search easier, as their view was not blocked by any stems, but it did not. Soon, despite the cold, they were sweating in their thick clothes and still there was no sign of Vietnam.

Thailand stopped. “She cannot have gone that far!”

Taiwan stopped too. “We have to keep looking! You know how stubborn she can be if she gets something on her mind.”

“I still think she would stay close to the cave, na”, Thailand replied. “What about you, India?”

They both turned to look to where India had been seconds ago. Now he was standing a few meters off the track, staring at something in the snow. “You… might want to see this.”

His tone made Taiwan’s heart squeeze with worry as she hurried to join him. The white light from India’s flashlight reflected in compact ice. Now she understood what people meant when they said “ice blue”. It was beautifully breath taking and horrifying.

She barely noticed it when Thailand joined them, as she was too caught up in the absurdness of all of this.

“It is not real, ana”, Thailand breathed. He shook his head forcefully. “It cannot be!”

Taiwan carefully knelt by the ice statue they were all watching. She removed her glove and put her hand against the blue cheek. Smooth. The frozen expression was one that held just as much terror as the scream had, if not more. “What did this?” she asked softly.

“I do not know”, India replied. “It might be a trick Germany and Vietnam put together.”

“Exactly!” Thailand exclaimed, grasping the slim chance that it was untrue. “It has to be, na!”

Taiwan shook her head. Her chest all of a sudden felt too small for her heart. Her vision went blurry, and burning hot tears fell from her eyes. “It’s not a trick”, she whispered. “Don’t you see?” She showed to the track that led there. One person had walked to that very spot, but none had walked back. Her gaze returned to the frozen horror-stricken face of Vietnam, and she began sobbing. This made no sense!


	11. Hungary

#  **Chapter 10**

_Hungary_

She hummed as she made her way back towards the shelter. Across her shoulder, she was carrying two hares, a bird and a squirrel. For once she was glad the darkness bothered her less than it did the others, and she had to admit going hunting again was not as repelling as she had imagined. She still remembered the basic traps and techniques, and how to move soundlessly between trees. Of course, Prussia had wanted to accompany her, but she had denied it, saying his poor sight would only lead to trouble. Austria had not even asked to join, even though he expressed worry at her going alone. He could be rather sweet.

The first thing that indicated she was close to the shelter, was Austria warming his voice. He preferred instruments, but when there were none available he would sing.

It took Hungary a moment before she found the entrance of the shelter, which she deemed good. She was just about to enter, when Prussia stormed past, muttering something that sounded dangerously close to “stupid aristocrat”.

“Where are you going?” she called after him, placing her free hand at her hip.

“Anywhere!” he exclaimed. “As long as I don’t have to hear that soprano!”

“Good, then take these, go to the river and clean it”, Hungary commanded, handing over her kill. “I want it perfect for cooking, got it?”

Prussia grinned, taking what soon would become their dinner. “Sure. That’s a simple task for this awesomeness!” He lit his flashlight and headed towards the river.

Even after Hungary had lost sight of him, she could still see the light. She shook her head with an exasperated sigh, before turning to the shelter and climbing in. Austria had managed to make it quite cosy in her absence. There was a fire going in the middle, and the smoke drifted out through a ledge in the roof. Their blankets and sleeping bags lay spread around the fireplace, and there was firewood stacked to dry. One of the medics’ boxes had been emptied and stood there, ready to make food in. Smart.

The man himself, was standing there, his eyes closed as he tried to get the tones right. He came to a halt and cursed lightly, opening his eyes. “This cold makes it impossible to sing properly! Not even my finest instruments would be in tune in this weather.”

Hungary smiled and settled by the fire, starting to prepare their meal. “I am sure you will manage. Just give it another try!”

There was silence for a few moments, before Austria settled on the opposite side of fire. “We will be out of here in two days, and then I can play as much as I wish. I believe I can manage the wait.”

She laughed softly. “Have you written anything in the journal?”

“Of course.” From his rucksack, he found the mentioned journal. He flipped through the first pages that were already covered in writing. “I have to admit I feel completely useless, realizing that you do most of the work.” He stopped at one of the pages, pointing out a sentence. “Hungary led us…” Further down, he pointed out another sentence. “Hungary constructed our shelter… Hungary built our fire… Hungary set out traps… Hungary went to check the traps…” He shut the journal with a sigh.

Hungary smiled reassuringly. “But you have not been completely useless. You helped clear this place so it would not be full of snow, you made it cosy, and you filled our bottles twice!”

“You make it sound like much more than it really is. Even Prussia did more than me!”

“Oh, please”, Hungary scoffed. “He only did what I asked of him.”

It brought a small smile to Austria’s lips. He was about to say something, when a yelp reached their ears. Some racket from the entrance, then Prussia dived in, blocking the entrance behind himself and collapsed in a trembling heap of limbs. German words spoken far too quickly for any of the others to catch, fell from his lips, but the tone made it clear he was trying to calm himself down.

A strange urge to laugh at his pathetic state overcame Hungary, and she snorted. “Did the kill jump you?” she asked teasingly, a smirk at her lips.

Prussia turned to her, his red eyes glowering with a strange mixture of shame, fear and anger. “It did not!” he snapped. “I was just peacefully cleaning it, when my neck suddenly began freezing, and when I tried to cover it, it only became colder! I glanced up, and there was this totally un-awesome shadow looming over me!”

The more he spoke, the paler he became. In fact, if Hungary was not mistaken, he was shivering.

Austria laughed, but it sounded rather nervous. “Y-you’re just trying to scare us.”

Hungary rolled her eyes and rose from the fire. She forced Prussia to his feet, led him back to the fire and had him sit down. When her hand for a second touched his skin, she noticed that he was actually very cold. She brushed it off and got a blanket, tucking it around him. “So, no more spooks from you, mister. It helps none of us.”

“But it’s true!” Prussia exclaimed.

She ignored him and brought forth a bottle of water. “I will go finish the cleaning. Try not to kill each other in the meanwhile.”

Prussia’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist before she could make it to the entrance. “Don’t go!” he pleaded, and this time there was only fear left in his eyes. No anger, no shame.

Hungary peeled his hand off her wrist and pulled on her gloves. “Look, I am not scared of your imaginations. I will be back in short.” She climbed out of their shelter and stopped to let her eyes adjust to the deep darkness. When she could make out the contours of the closest trees, she set off towards the river at a brisk pace. The snow danced around her legs, but the track that had been made earlier was good enough to lead her. More than twice she found marks in the snow that indicated Prussia might have slipped and fallen in his hurry to get back. If she looked closer, she was barely able to make out the marks of blood from his hands. The closer she got to the river, the more protruding these marks were in the snow.

At the riverbank a large space had been cleared, so there was enough place to move about. Prussia’s gloves lay there, along with two cleaned hares and a squirrel. The bird had been plucked and the gut was cut open. The knife lay abandoned beside it.

With a shake of her head, Hungary knelt down to finish the work where Prussia left off. She removed the guts and cleaned what little of the meat she considered good to eat. Afterwards she washed her hands and the knife in the freezing water. While she was doing this, she suddenly felt as though something cold was slowly wrapping around her neck. She shuddered, shifting so the collar of her jacket covered more of her earlier exposed skin. Probably just a draft.

A second later the cold returned, more demanding this time. From her neck it spread to her shoulders and chest. It ran down her arms, and she involuntarily began shivering. Past her waist to her hips and down her legs. Her toes quickly went numb. She gritted her teeth, determined to clean every little remain of blood from under her nails.

When she was done, she got up with a moan. Every muscle in her body protested as she straightened, picking up the meat, and turned. Before her, there was nothing but darkness. Not that she had expected anything else. Slowly she began walking back towards the shelter. She was sure every joint in her body was creaking.

She stared into the darkness ahead of her. Her breath clouded in the cold air. Two violet lights stared back. She frowned slightly. It was nearly as though her brain was cooling down along with her body. Violet lights… Shadow… Her eyes widened in realization and she opened her mouth, ready to scream. The scream was never released.


	12. Greece

#  **Chapter 11**

_Greece_

It was too dark. Even though Greece enjoyed a nap once in a while, he was not overly fond of darkness. At least not when it was supposed to be light. What could it be? About 8 or 9 PM, maybe. They had started out about 2 PM, and it had already been dark. Now, he realized it had been light, compared to what it was like now. He wondered how far north they were. Behind the polar circle, maybe.

He breathed out a white cloud, illuminated by the flashlight he had standing in the snow beside himself. His group – himself, Cyprus, Egypt, Cameroon and Turkey – had found it safest to camp by the lake. Turkey had picked apart his flashlight and used what pieces he could to put together some sort of shelter, together with Cameroon, and it had worked out surprisingly well. Greece would have added some pillars, maybe an arched entrance and a statue to make it more pleasant-looking.

His gaze drifted towards Cyprus and Egypt who were sitting at the frozen lake, trying their hands on fishing. They had made a hole in the ice as they had seen other groups do, but so far, they had caught one trout. That would for sure not be enough to sustain them for long.

Greece’s gaze drifted to the western side of the lake, less than a kilometre away. The Italian brothers and the Spaniard had built some sort of cave of snow, supported by a network of flexible branches. Through the opening, the warm light of their fire was visible. Even from a distance, he heard Spain and Italy laugh at something Romano had said.

“Ah!”

Greece’s gaze returned to Cyprus and Egypt. Cyprus was standing up, showing off a rather large fish. He got his knife and made short procedure with it.

“Nice catch”, Egypt commented.

“Thanks!” Cyprus smiled. “Greece! What do you think?”

“Good”, Greece replied, nodding slightly.

Cyprus’ smile widened slightly and he got down to the task of cleaning it. Greece watched him for a long while, before Turkey emerged from their shelter where he had been chatting away with Cameroon. Something about how football affected building contraptions. Greece really had no idea how that worked out, as there was no connection in the conversation at all.

“Hey, Greece! You should do something!” Turkey said, placing his hands at his sides, his feet firmly planted on the ground. “Go cut some wood!”

“I don’t take orders from you.”

“But if we don’t have wood, we’re going to freeze!”

“You have already chopped enough wood for a bonfire to last for eternity”, Greece pointed out.

“In this cold it won’t last. Now, get up and do something useful!”

“I think, therefore I am useful.”

“Guys?”

Turkey rolled his eyes. “Thinking isn’t going to help us feel warm out here!”

“Considering a situation first, is always better than barge in head-first like a certain Turkish bull does”, Greece replied, his voice not rising the least.

“What bull?”

“I was talking of you.”

“Hey, Guys?”

“I’m not a bull!” Turkey exclaimed, before booming with laughter. “Got no better, philosophe?”

“A simpleminded being like you would not understand any better.”

“Guys!”

“What?” Both Turkey and Greece whipped their heads around to face Cyprus and Egypt. They had abandoned the fishing and were slowly backing up towards the shore.

“Look at that!” Cyprus exclaimed, confusion and fear clear in his voice. He pointed straight forward with his flashlight. It illuminated thick darkness – nothing else than what they had seen the whole day. A sudden flash of dark blue appeared, before it dissolved.

Slowly Greece got up. His eyes narrowed as he tried to catch another glimpse of whatever it was.

There it was again, much closer this time.

Egypt backed up, careful with not slipping as he tried to keep the thing in the light. Cyprus was slightly less careful. Two steps, then he slipped. Despite the meters between them, Greece heard a slight crack as Cyprus hit the ice.

Moving faster than he usually preferred, Greece got up and started for Cyprus who was groaning and rubbing his head. Cyprus reached for the flashlight that had fallen from his hand, as well as his knife. Suddenly the dark blue thing appeared, surrounding him and blocking him from view. A call for help rang through the still air.

“Cyprus!” Greece called, speeding up.

“Don’t!” Egypt exclaimed as Greece was about to pass him, lacing onto his arm. “We don’t know what it is!”

Greece glared at him. “We must help him.”

“It won’t do any good if we are hurt too!” Egypt proceeded with trying to drag Greece the few steps back to the shore.

“But we cannot just watch!”

Another arm grabbed Greece and forced him back. “And you just called me a bull?” Turkey asked softly. His voice was just by Greece’s ear.

“Let me go!” Greece tried to pull free, a desperate wish of helping Cyprus washing over him. Memories of their childhood flashed by. His mother, Ancient Greece, coming home with the tiny creature in her arms one day, telling him to be nice to the creature. Cyprus constantly all over the place, trying to make out things Greece had learnt long ago. Cyprus demanding a story every once in a while – usually whenever Greece was trying to solve some complicated theoretical problem one or another philosopher had presented for him during a lesson. Cyprus coming to visit, presenting his little brother, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, TRNC for short.

“We cannot just watch”, Greece pleaded. Vaguely he was aware that Cameroon had joined them.

“We can’t throw ourselves at that thing without knowing what it is”, Turkey corrected.

The dark blue cloud surrounding Cyprus swirled faster and faster. Greece was positive that a pair of violet eyes stared hungrily at him, but he could not care less.

New, more recent memories flashed through his mind. Cyprus scolding him for always getting into fights with Turkey. Cyprus trying to lighten the mood between them. Cyprus chatting away of some minimal problem. Cyprus and all his celebrations.

“Besides, it’s not like we can die.” Egypt’s voice broke through to Greece.

It was true. Being the nations they were, they could not die before the nation they represented dissolved. They were all proof of that. Some changed name with time or had black-outs, but they never truly disappeared.

The dark blue cloud began dissolving, until only the violet eyes remained, staring at them, hovering barely a meter above Cyprus’ still body. Then they were gone.

Greece broke free from Turkey’s arms and rushed forth. Forgetting the ice underneath his boots, he lost footing, and the last distance he made on hands and knees. When he reached Cyprus, he froze. Then he reached out. His glove-covered hand rested lightly against the ice blue cheek. “No”, he mumbled. “Cyprus?”

No response.

He took Cyprus’ face between his hands. Solid ice. Eyes, hair, skin, clothing. All of him.

“No!”

“Sweet God…” Egypt breathed.

“That’s… bad”, Turkey said.

“Can we not revive him?” Cameroon suggested.

Greece sat up straight, breathing out sharply. “He is ice. What do you suggest we do? Heat will melt him. Cold will not affect him the slightest.” His voice broke at the end as his throat felt too narrow to get forth the words correctly.

“Greece-” Turkey began.

Greece got up, spinning around. They were about the same height, the two of them. “It is your fault!” He never raised his voice. Had never needed to. He was Greece, for the hell of it, and people usually listened when he said something. Except today.

“Wait, what?” Turkey held his hands up defensively. “What did I do?”

“You held me back! If you had let me go, we could have helped him! _I_ could have helped him!” Greece practically yelled.

“How?” Turkey replied, his voice rising as well. “You would have been just as frozen!”

“I could have gotten him out of here, before he was frozen!”

Turkey laughed, but lacked all signs of humour. “Now you’re just being stupid.”

Greece narrowed his eyes, stepping closer to Turkey, prodding him in the chest with a finger. “I despise you, you know that? You are loud. You never listen to reason. You always argue. You treat everyone as though they are your servants – as though it is fine if you lose one, and you can just find a replacement. You are despicable and I hate you.”

He turned away from Turkey and knelt beside Cyprus once more, losing himself in memories of times long gone and ignoring all attempts of conversation. It was as though there was only him and Cyprus caught in a bobble of time and silence where nothing reached through. Time seemed to go still.


	13. Romania

#  **Chapter 12**

_Romania_

_Bulgaria went out a while ago. Everything has been strangely quiet, until now. It seems some sort of storm is blowing up, but we have built a good shelter underneath a large spruce, so there is no need to worry. It is small, and no space at all to stand up, but at least it keeps warm. We have a small fire going by the entrance, we have had warm food and are now tucked in to get some rest._

_I am supposed to keep watch, but I am already tired. Well, I suppose as long as Bulgaria is out, I should stay awake, just in case he loses his way and calls out, so that I can answer him._

 

Romania glanced down at the few lines he had written, then closed the journal and put it away, along with the pencil. He leant back against the wall they had created – partly by his magic – and turned his eyes to Moldova. The younger one was curled up against his side, sleeping peacefully. He reached out and carefully brushed some strands of hair out of Moldova’s face. Then his hand fell to his side once more, and he just sat there in silence and listened to the wind howling and the rustle of branches.

 

His eyes opened and he sat up with a jerk, his head nearly making contact with the roof of their shelter. It was dimly lit and the fire had gone out, leaving only embers glowing. Quickly Romania scrambled to get some firewood. Adding it to the embers, he blew at it until the fire sparked to life again.

With a sigh he sat back, his eyes closing for a brief moment again. Then he opened them and glanced at the watch. 11:25 PM. Too bad he had fallen asleep. He turned his gaze to the other two sleeping places; the one beside him that belong to Moldova, and the one beside Moldova that belonged to Bulgaria.

He would have smiled to himself – one of those smiles that people said made his fangs show – had there been anything to smile at. Both places were empty.

“Moldova!” he called, once more nearly making contact with the roof. He crawled to the entrance and stared out in the darkness. “Moldova! Bulgaria!”

No response.

He fumbled forth his flashlight, turned it on and swept the area with it, trying to catch sight of his little brother and best friend. His heart was quickening its pace and he had began chewing his lower lip. It always happened whenever he was nervous.

Had Bulgaria returned? Maybe he came after Romania fell asleep, and decided to keep watch. Then Moldova had woken up and needed to take a trip outside, but was afraid to go alone, so he asked Bulgaria to follow him.

Yes, that must be it. No need to worry. They would be back soon, and then he could scold them for going out without leaving a message, and forgetting to tend to the fire.

Yet Romania stayed by the entrance, staring out into the darkness, listening to the never-ceasing wind and counting the seconds. The seconds turned into minutes. Soon his watch showed 00:01 AM.

He added more firewood to the fire, made sure everything was at the far back of the shelter and that he wore enough clothes, then hurried out in the cold night. The layer of snow was thin and the trees stood close, making it hard to get a good view of the surroundings. Good thing he could orient himself by after the river running by barely a hundred meters from their shelter.

“Moldova! Bulgaria!”

If anyone were nearby, they were probably awake by now. Down here, between the trees, his voice was not easily caught by the wind.

Again he called out and stopped to listen.

No answer.

He continued, turning around in full circles with every second step to make sure he missed nothing. He searched in larger and larger circles from the shelter, until he nearly stumbled into the river. The cold wind hit him and he gasped, quickly pulling in between the trees again to escape the cold. He glanced at the watch. Close to one.

Maybe they had passed each other along the way?

He set off back towards the shelter, where he crawled in, waving smoke out of his face along the way.

Sitting up, he scanned the shelter. The fire was unattended. The sleeping places abandoned. It could not be true. Had to be some sort of joke. He opened their sleeping bags fully. Empty. Emptied their rucksacks. No clue. As he pushed the sleeping bags aside, he found Moldova’s hat. His eyes widened and he gingerly picked it up. His eyes stung.

Throwing all caution aside, he got out in the free and cried as loud as he managed, “Moldova! Bulgaria!”

Unaware of exactly what he was doing, he conjured a light to lead him. A dangerous, red fire that danced before him, flickering teasingly, nearly like the hell and devil it came from. It moved quickly. Romania cared not. He ran as fast as he could, deeper into the forest, until the light suddenly stopped by a pile of snow.

Romania threw himself at his knees, digging into the pile. Soon he brushed snow off solid frozen faces. They were there, both of them. Bulgaria’s arms were tightly locked around Moldova who had his face buried in Bulgaria’s chest. Bulgaria’s face was a mask of despair and his mouth was open, frozen in a call for help.

“No…” Romania breathed. “No!” His eyes were now burning. Then they spilled over. With a trembling hand he touched Bulgaria’s frozen eyebrows, then his nose and cheeks. Moldova’s hair.


	14. England

#  **Chapter 1** **3**

_England_

Sometime during the night, New Zealand must had woken up and left their platform, because it was the loss of him that made England wake up. He sat up, shivering slightly in the cold air, and glanced to his side where New Zealand had been sleeping, his back pressed against England’s. Now he was gone.

He sank back and lay still for a long while, unable to fall asleep again. Counting the minutes, he waited for New Zealand’s return. After some while rustle in the branches signalled New Zealand was on his way up. Some seconds later he slipped back in place.

“New Zealand”, England said, quietly so not to wake the two loud twits who were snoring away.

New Zealand stiffened for a second, then relaxed slightly. He was shivering. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“It is quite all right”, England replied dismissively. “What got you up at this time?”

“Nature”, New Zealand replied.

England nodded. He untangled himself from America’s arms that always were everywhere but where they were supposed to be, and turned over on his side, facing New Zealand. “Cold, is it not?”

New Zealand nodded.

“You are shivering.”

“It’s nothing.”

England nodded, and soon drifted off to sleep again.

 

When he woke next time, it was because of America shaking him. England furrowed his brows. “What?” When America continued shaking him, he tried swatting him away while grumbling, “Leave me be already…”

“England!” America complained. A second later, he had forced England into a sitting position.

England finally opened his eyes and glared at the other. “I told you to leave me be! Have you no respect of your elders?”

“Look, dude, I’d love to let you sleep, but we have a problem.”

This alerted England and he was fully awake in the blink of an eye. “Why did you not say so, and what…” His voice died away when he looked around and found New Zealand laying beside him in Australia’s arms. New Zealand’s skin was white, close to pale blue, while Australia was pale and shivering.

“Ab-bout time you w-woke up”, Australia managed through clattering teeth.

“What is going on?” England whispered. His gaze went to New Zealand again. Even his hair and clothes were turning pale blue. And his sleeping bag.

“Well, we thought you’d know”, America replied.

England said nothing, still staring at New Zealand. Why? How? His thoughts went to the short conversation of the night when New Zealand had returned. He had been shivering back then, but England only connected it with the cold night air. Now…

His thoughts ran a mile a minute, and realization hit him hard. “Oh God.” Unable to sit still, he got up and began pacing back and forth quickly. “Bloody idiot! Dimwit!” A long list of curses followed swiftly. Why had he not seen it before? The yelling from Turkey’s camp that for sure must had been Greece. Greece never raised his voice.

He spun around, facing Australia, New Zealand and America. America was now sitting beside New Zealand, reaching out to touch his sleeve.

“No!” England exclaimed.

America froze. “What?”

“You cannot touch him! None of them!”

“Why?”

“Because…” England swallowed. In one breath, he pushed down his anger and composed himself. He approached the trio sitting there, and knelt beside them, careful with not touching any of them. From a pocket, he found a pen and sketched a small version of his magic circle before himself. Nearly immediately, it began glowing. A few mumbled words, and the glowing circle exploded into stars. The early morning went dark again.

He cleared his throat lightly. How should he explain? “This island appears to be… cursed. By the looks of it, some sort of ice spirit lives here.” He held up his hand as America started to ask questions. “Please, I have little knowledge of this sort of spirits. All I can say is that it is more powerful than what I have encountered before. I… apologize.”

“For what?” America asked. Did he see the seriousness of this situation, after all? “You didn’t do anything.”

“But I can do nothing for them”, England replied, gesturing to New Zealand and Australia. Australia had stopped shivering. Probably because he was unable to. “And…” he trailed off, a thought occurring to him. “You have not been in contact with them, have you?”

Silence.

The colour drained from England’s face. He could not see it, but he was certain he felt it. “Please tell me you have not touched any of them.”

“I might have, when we tried to get New Zealand warm… Why?”

“You fool!” England exclaimed. “Do you have any idea- No, of course you do not. You are so…” At loss of words, he put his head in his hands. “Ignorant”, he finally finished. “Foolishly ignorant.”

“I want an explanation!” America replied, his voice rising as well. “Do you see that?” He pointed to Australia and New Zealand. “They are freezing to death, and you keep on talking about… spirits and I don’t know what! They only exist on Halloween!”

“They are around all the time!” England yelled. “And even if I tried to help them, it would only make matters worse! My spells speed the transformation!”

“They only need to be warmed! Let’s move them down and light a fire!”

“It is not going to help! They are turning to ice, and- America, listen to me! No, you cannot…”

America got up and took a firm grip of New Zealand to drag him across the platform and somehow move him down to the fireplace. England shot up and tried to pry America’s hands off the frozen body, without touching it himself.

“You’re mad!” America exclaimed. “Don’t you see that they need help?”

England suppressed his desperation and grabbed America by the shoulders, effectively startling him and stopping him from any further movement. “Please, for once in your life, would you just listen to me?! I know more about these things than you do, and believe me when I say that there is nothing more any of us can do to help them. I might manage it if I join my powers with Norway and Romania’s, but alone I am too weak!” His gaze went to America’s hands that still were holding New Zealand in an iron grip. Those hands were already turning paler by the second. “It will spread to you too. It has. Look at your hands.”

America pulled away from England, but carefully lowered New Zealand to the ground. He glanced at his hands. There were pale blue marks there already. America took a long, trembling breath. “Then we’ll go find Romania and Norway.”


	15. Italy

#  **Chapter 14**

_Italy_

Italy yawned, stretching and blinking at the light that fell in through the opening of their shelter. Then he froze. Light. He scrambled up and dived out in the fresh snow, laughing. Light! Finally!

“Good morning!” Spain greeted brightly, waving from the fireplace where he was making their breakfast. “Did you sleep well?”

Italy replied with a laughter as he close to bounced over to the Spaniard. “The sleeping pile was a good idea. At least I stayed warm, ve!”

This time it was Spain’s turn to laugh.

“Where’s Roma?”

“He wanted to try putting some snares. I think he’ll be back soon.”

Italy nodded. He glanced about, eager to have something to do. His gaze fell on the half-buried logs that still needed to be chopped up, but decided against touching the axe. That type of things was not his strongest side.

“Can you fill these bottles?” Spain asked.

“Sure!” Italy gathered the two bottles that had already been emptied, then headed down to the lake. He was slightly disappointed to find that their hole in the ice from the previous day was frozen over, but the moment he putted a little pressure on it, it broke. He removed his glove and grabbed the first bottle, thrusting it into the freezing water. When he was full, he filled the other.

As he dried his hand on his jacket, he got aware of something going on at the northern side of the lake. He put on his glove and rose, frowning in that direction. He recognized Turkey at the shore. That meant the other probably was Cameroon, and the last was either Cyprus or Egypt. Where was Greece and the last who was either Egypt or Cyprus?

He picked up the bottles and headed back to the fire where Spain was waiting. “What is going on over there?” he asked, pointing north.

Spain’s gaze followed Italy’s. The three people appeared to be gathering around something a on the ice.

“I can’t see properly”, Spain eventually replied. “Maybe we should go and ask, once we get things going here?”

“That’s a good idea!” Italy smiled. He handed Spain the bottles.

Soon Romano joined them, and they ate breakfast. By the time they had finished and cleaned the dishes, the light was already fading, turning into twilight. Realizing this, Italy pouted. “Aww, I hoped we would see the sun!”

“We’re north of the polar circle”, Spain reminded him with a small chuckle. “No sunlight before January, sometimes even later.”

“How do you know?”

Spain shrugged. “I watched the map as we travelled here. I think we are somewhere off the coast of Norway, but I’m not sure. Might as well be Canada or Greenland.”

“Nice doing”, Romano stated drily. “You don’t know what side of the Atlantic Ocean we’re on.”

“Knowing that we’re at this side of the world is more than you know”, Spain replied with a teasing grin.

He earned an annoyed huff.

 

The rest of the day went by uneventfully, except when Romano went out to check his snares. Spain joined him, claiming he was going to gather a few twigs and branches they could use to make their shelter more solid. When they returned, Romano held a squirrel while Spain had a nice pile of branches in his arms. Both appeared paler than they had been earlier. Romano headed straight to the lake to clean his squirrel, while Spain continued with their shelter. When Romano returned, he said nothing, only put the meat away with what was left from the hare of the previous day. Then he crawled into the shelter. After a few minutes, Spain joined him.

Italy was left in the twilight, tending to the fire by his own. It was strangely quiet. No wind. No movements. Not a single word came from the shelter. What were the two of them doing that required such silence?

Curiosity got the better of him, and he got up from the fire. “Roma? Spain?” he asked as he approached the shelter. He ducked inside, straightening once he was through the entrance. Both Romano and Spain were laying in their sleeping bags. Romano had his back to Spain, but Spain’s arms were wrapped tightly around Romano. Romano was white, but Spain appeared blue.

Italy hurried to their side and knelt beside them.

“Roma! Spain! What happened?”

Romano’s eyes cracked open, but it took him some moments to focus on Italy. When he finally did, he reached out. Italy took his hand. Cold, like ice. “Go…” Romano breathed. “Find G-Germany…”

Italy shook his head slightly, confused. “But… what happened? What about you? Why?”

“We’re freezing…” Romano replied. His eyes went unfocused, and his hand grew colder. His neck had a cold blue colour. “Find… the German… Don’t-” His words were cut short as his mouth came to a stop.

“Roma?” Italy whispered. He pulled his hand free from Romano’s grasp and shook the other. “Roma! Wake up! This isn’t fun! Come on!”

When he got no answer from Romano, he tried Spain, but that was even more fruitless. Desperately he glanced about, then grabbed his own sleeping bag. He zipped it open and covered them in it, before finding his flashlight and the chocolate. Something that would give him a burst of energy.

He stood, surveying his brother and Spain. “I’ll be back soon”, he promised. He swallowed the fear that was eating him. “Just… don’t go, like Grandpa Rome and Holy Rome!” Bursting into tears, he spun around and ran out of the shelter. He switched the flashlight on and ran as fast as his legs would carry him without tripping.

He followed the lake, ignoring everything that was not part of his path. When he made it to southern end of the lake, he kept going, through the forest. By the time he made it to the meadow, he was winded. He had tracks of salt at his cheeks and his eyes felt swollen.

The next curiosity, he quite literally tripped over. He had just made it to the edge of the forest, and was about to stop to catch his breath, when he fell face-first into the snow. He fought to get up in a sitting position. Glancing back and lighting up his path, he found a strangely shaped pile of snow. Carefully he brushed the snow away, ready to run if he would deem it needed. However, it turned out running was the last thing he needed. Under the snow, sat Netherlands, frozen in solid ice.

The sight made Italy back up. Netherlands had his pipe in hand and appeared way too peaceful. Barely visible underneath the scarf, was a blue mark at his neck. There had been a blue mark at Romano’s neck too.

Italy’s breath came out as a soft sob. Netherlands had been in company of Belgium and Luxembourg, right? That meant their shelter must be nearby. Maybe they were still fine. He scanned the area and soon enough found a shelter half covered in snow. He dug forth the entrance and peered inside. The hearth must had gone cold during the night, because not even red embers glowed in the darkness. Beside the hearth, sat Belgium and Luxembourg. The latter was sitting at her lap, looking nearly childish as he desperately tried to gain some warmth. But both of them were ice. Just as Netherlands.

_Just as Roma and Spain_.

Italy sobbed and pulled away from the shelter. Spinning around, he caught sight of the sea in the last little twilight, and there was their starting point. A red flag showed it. He took off in the direction Germany had pointed out. West.

No thought crossed his mind as he ran. Time appeared meaningless. Twice he stopped to rest and eat some chocolate, before he was off again. The darkness packed in the landscape, making everything outside the reach of the flashlight appear dangerous and threatening.

At some point Italy’s throat began hurting of lack of water. He felt like giving up, but could not allow himself the luxury. Romano and Spain were relying on him! He had to get to Germany and get help! His chest ached and he wanted to cry to lessen the pain, but no tears came to his eyes.

Lights appeared in the distance. Warm, golden lights the shape of windows. Italy sobbed, even though they were still far away. As he got closer, he was sure that they belong to Germany’s cabin. It could not be far now.

“Germany!” he cried. It hurt his throat even more. “G-Germany!”

He continued running, until his flashlight lit up the way that was left to the front porch. Inside he heard dogs bark and Germany telling them to keep quiet.

“Germany!” he called again, slowing down to a walk. He pulled himself up the last steps and fell on the doorknob. The door swung open and he collapsed at the entrance, gasping for breath. Why was it suddenly so hard to breath? Sure, he had been running for very long, but it should not feel this way.

He glanced down at his hands. They were white and trembling. On the back of his hand, the hand Romano had held, there was a blue mark growing forth.

“Italy!”

His gaze lifted and he smiled. “G-Germany. I called for you.”

Germany knelt beside him. “Are you fine? Where are Spain and Romano? Have you been running? And- God, you are freezing!” The last part came upon trying to help him to his feet.

Italy smiled, even his breath shivering now. He was cold, to the point where he barely felt it anymore. As Germany helped him to his feet, he leant into his chest. It provided a little warmth. Just a little.

“Italy, I need you to tell me exactly what happened”, Germany demanded, reaching out to close the door and leading Italy into the living room. It was nice and cosy. A sofa, an armchair, a tea table, a fireplace. Germany made Italy sit before the fireplace, then got a blanket and placed it around his shoulders.

Italy glanced down at his hands again. They were now white as the snow outside. Just a little more, and he would be like Romano and Spain. Cold. Unfeeling. Unseeing. Unresponsive. But there was still Germany. Germany needed to know.

“Everyone’s freezing, Germany…” Italy mumbled.

“What?” Germany asked, kneeling beside him.

“We’re… turning to ice… Netherlands… Belgium and Luxembourg… Spain… Roma…” Italy leant against Germany, closing his eyes. “Me…”


	16. Norway

#  **Chapter 15**

_Norway_

What a familiar room. _That was the first thought that crossed Norway’s mind as he looked around the place. It was small and cosy with a fireplace, a bed that served as sofa as well, a chair, some cupboards along one of the short walls, and a bench beneath. In the middle of the room stood a table. Currently, the table had been turned into a temporary bed. He instantly recognized that stupid Dane, laying there covered in bandages. Some of them had dark red roses of blood, but he appeared stable at the moment. Tucked into thick blankets and pelts in the bed, lay Iceland. Weariness was painted across his face, but he was sleeping peacefully. The chair stood by the table, and was currently unoccupied._

_It was a scene Norway remember a little too clearly. Strange, how some of the worst memories were those he remembered the clearest, while the best memories disappeared in fogs of warm feelings._

_The door to the room opened, and a cold wind filled the hut. He did not feel it, but he somehow knew it. The door closed just as quickly as it had opened, and a much younger version of himself hurried to the fireplace. The young Norway, or rather Nóregr, dropped a bundle there, quickly pulling off his gloves to warm himself. Then he opened the bundle, revealing plenty of new bandages. With swift movements, he went to work with changing Denmark’s old blood stained ones._

_The current Norway watched for some moments, before turning away and walking over to the bed. He watched Iceland’s sleeping face, content that way, before his younger self spoke._

_“What are you doing here?”_

_Norway turned around. Nóregr was not looking at him. In fact, Nóregr was sitting silently beside Denmark, his hands resting lightly in his lap. The position was correct, but that question should not have been there._

_“I know you are here. Why?” Nóregr remained motionless, except his eyebrows that ever so slightly pulled together in an annoyed frown. Then he glanced up and stared straight at Norway. “Why are you here?”_

_This was not part of the memory, that much Norway was certain of. He, however, hid his confusion and tilted his head a little. “I have no idea.”_

_Nóregr nodded and began fiddling with some strands of Denmark’s hair that poked out beneath a bandage. “I have promised to always keep them safe. He laughed at me, but I was serious. If Danmǫrk fails to protect us, I will take his place.”_

_Norway nodded slightly. Long ago, when Denmark got into a fight the moment he was left alone for a brief second, he had made such a promise. They had all been there. Him, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland. Some sort of celebration with good meat and mead. Maybe he had been a little too free-spoken, but they had been talking about how Denmark always fought, and then he had made the promise._

_Nóregr glanced towards the door, then back to Norway. “You should get going. Remember our promise.”_

 

Norway’s eyes flew open and he stared into the ceiling of the cave. At his left, he felt the heat of a dying fire. Someone’s head was resting at his legs. He sat up, finding Denmark sound asleep at his legs and drooling. On the other side of the fire, Iceland was sitting, his head hanging and apparently sleeping. The blanket had slipped off and was laying useless around him.

Slowly so not to wake Denmark, Norway got out of his sleeping bag and walked around the fireplace. He picked up the blanket and tucked it carefully around Iceland again. He added more firewood to the fire.

Iceland groaned softly.

Norway turned around, only to find the younger straightening his back and stretching. “Did I dose off again?”

“Yes.”

“Goddammit.”

“If you were tired, you should have woken me up. I could keep watch.” The answer was too quiet for Norway to catch, but he did not press the matter. “Where are Sweden and Finland?”

Iceland tensed up slightly, first now becoming aware of the flat patch where their sleeping bags and blankets lay. “I don’t know”, he replied. “They hadn’t returned yet when you dosed off.”

Norway frowned, turning his attention to the opening of the cave. Out there, the wind was howling, crying in despair, and hurling snow about half a meter into their cave. No one in their right mind would stay out for long in this weather. Not even Sweden and Finland.

He rose and put on his hat and gloves, checked that his jacket was properly closed and that the winter trousers covered his boots. Then he pulled up the hood.

“Where are you going?” Iceland questioned.

“I have to look for them.”

“You can’t go out in this weather! They’ll be back soon, anyway.”

For once, Norway allowed himself a half-smile. “I have been out in much worse, Iceland. I will be back in a few minutes.” He turned his back at the fire and headed straight for the opening.

The cold air hit him the moment he was outside, and he resisted the urge to gasp. Good thing he would have the wind in his back. He made his way through the snow, in between the spruces. Closer to the river the forest opened up a little, allowing more wind to play around.

When he caught sight of the bank, he spotted Sweden and Finland’s silhouettes in the darkness. “What are you still doing here?” he called, making his way between the last spruces. He quickened his pace a little, until he stood just behind them. “You made us worry.”

Silence.

He frowned slightly. What was it they found that interesting at the opposite side of the river? Glancing past, he found nothing but more spruces and snow. He walked around them, stopped before them and waved a hand in front of their faces.

No response.

His eyes narrowed slightly. From a pocket he brought forth his flashlight and switched it on. He aimed the light at their faces.

It was as though time stopped the second the light sparkled in thousands upon thousands of ice crystals. Blue, horror-stricken faces. Finland looked as though he was yelling something in fear, while even Sweden for once showed fear. It looked like he had tried to step before Finland to save the smaller.

But it had been in vain.

Realization made Norway’s eyes widen. He spun around, lighting up the darkness around himself with the flashlight. Then, without wasting another second, he took off back. Suddenly, the blizzard appeared harmless. More than once, he was sure he felt cold fingers reach for his neck. Every single time he would conjure a shield to place behind himself, even though he knew it would not work for long.

The light of the cave appeared before him, and he sped up. His heart was racing and his breath was already coming short, but it did not matter when he could throw himself in through the entrance and block it with yet another shield. While catching his breath, he hauled forth every single protective spell he knew, throwing them at the shield to strengthen it.

It was first when someone placed a hand at his shoulder that he became aware of how it must had appeared to Iceland – and probably also Denmark, because the hand belong to the Dane.


	17. England

#  **Chapter 16**

_England_

Silence covered them like a thick carpet while they only stood there, lost in thoughts. England was still thinking of New Zealand and Australia who very soon would be frozen solid, and he felt like he was losing them all over again – which he in a way probably was, unless he did something.

He turned away from the tree, inhaling sharply at the sudden stab of sadness. Conjuring a tracker took a few seconds, even though it was obvious America did not see the pale green light as it bounced between the trees, leading them around the lake.

This time around, it was England’s turn to lead. America remained unusually quiet. Until they made it as far as a shelter that had been left barely visible after the blizzard of the night. Then America stopped.

England continued a few steps, before glancing back, slightly annoyed. “Come on!” he called. “We have to hurry if we want to find them!”

“But…” America frowned, as though he was actually trying to think up something reasonable. “Canada’s groups is here!” He dashed off through the snow, calling for Canada with obvious glee in his voice.

England sighed, crossing his arms as he waited. From his spot, he could clearly see as America dug forth the entrance to the shelter. But something was off. The shelter appeared abandoned. The horrible thought that something might have happened to them washed over him, and he darted over to where America had just broken through the entrance and tumbled into the shelter. England followed at his heels.

The shelter was dark.

“Canada?” America called.

England removed his rucksack and opened it, pulling forth a flashlight. He switched it on and took a look around the shelter. From the inside, it looked more like some sort of shed. Against the back wall, they had stacked up on firewood. The walls were made of uneven trunks, as was the roof. A ledge in the roof had opened for snow to fall in. Four sleeping bags and blankets lay in a frozen huddle.

He felt hollow upon recognizing France, Cuba, Seychelles and Monaco’s frozen faces.

“Shit”, America muttered, kneeling beside the huddle, careful not to touch any of them.

It appeared as though they had been trying to keep each other warm. There was a look of pain at France’s face, while the others appeared only cold. Dead.

“This is bad”, he continued. “Good thing Canada isn’t here. If it is as you say, and it spreads, he’d be just as frozen as them.”

England was quiet as he let the light sweep the shed once more. On the opposite side of the fire, he found Canada. Unlike the others, Canada was still somewhat alive. He lay there, an occasional tremble running through his body.

“We should go look for him”, America stated.

“There is no need to”, England replied. “Look.”

America glanced the way England pointed with his flashlight. The change in his composure was rather surprising. England had never really imagined that there was someone America genuinely cared for, but then again, Canada was his sibling. America got up, moved around the fireplace in two strides, and was back on the ground. This time, he did not care for whether the ice spread.

England did not try to stop him.

America rolled Canada over on the back, leaning over him. Canada’s eyes cracked open. Seconds passed in silence, before his lips twisted into the tiniest of smiles. “Al…” he muttered.

“Hey, Matt”, America replied softly. He pulled Canada into a sitting position, hugging him.

“W… arm.”

“I thought you were safe”, America whispered. “That you’d somehow escaped that fucking ice.”

“Heh…” Canada breathed.

England turned away from the scene, staring out in the cold. His eyes stung, and he had a feeling the weather was not to blame. Honestly, he had had a tiny hope that Canada was somewhere else. Sitting by a warm fire, but safe. He should have known not to hope. Hope was never on his side.

“We should go.” His voice cracked at the end and he glanced back.

America shook his head, still holding Canada. “I’m not leaving him.”

Without saying anything, England headed over to them. He ran a hand through America’s hair, before placing a light kiss at his forehead. When he pulled back, he smiled carefully. “Keep him safe. I will find Romania and Norway, and we will lift this blasted curse.”

“Sure thing. Go, and don’t freeze to death along the way! It won’t help anyone.”

England nodded, ruffled America’s hair one last time, then climbed out of the shed. He put the door back in place so more snow would not fall in, before hurrying back to where the light was waiting for him, bobbing gently in the air.


	18. Russia

#  **Chapter 17**

_Russia_

Waking up early was a part of Russia’s daily routine. For some moments he stared up in the ceiling of their snow cave, waiting for the last remains of sleepiness to drift away, before he carefully untangled himself from Belarus’ arms, climbed out of the sleeping bag and put on his outdoor clothing.

Upon emerging from the hole, he found grey daylight lighting up their small campsite. It was an area of about five times five meters, with a fireplace in the middle and walls around. In another snow cave lay their firewood and rucksacks, and in a third lay their food, packed into snow to remain cold.

Russia stretched as he yawned, then adjusted his scarf. “Good morning, Ukraine. Have you had a peaceful night?” He got firewood and matches, quickly lighting a fire in their fireplace. The yellow light reflected in the cold face of the statue sitting peacefully beside. “I have slept well. The wind did not bother me the least.” He chuckled slightly. “Too bad you turned to ice, da? Well…” He reached out, lightly caressing her cheek. “At least you will not leave us anymore, da?”

“Brother?”

Russia glanced back, finding Belarus standing at the entrance of the snow cave, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

“Good morning”, he greeted her, offering a tiny smile as he got up. “I will go to refill our bottles.”

Belarus nodded. “Be back soon.”

Russia gathered their bottles, before heading away from their campsite. The track they had walked up the previous day had snowed down by now, and he was in snow to about halfway to his knees. This, however, did not bother him the least. It actually reminded him a little of snowy days from his childhood, when they all had lived together.

Making it to the river, he knelt in the snow and opened the first bottle, dipping it into the running water to fill it. When it was full, he put the cork back on and proceeded with the next. While he was filling it, his gaze drifted to the camp just a few meters away. Just across the river, Snow lay around it and still appeared to be undisturbed. Strange. At least Lithuania should have been up by now.

Quickly he filled the last bottle, then headed back to their own camp. Even before he came behind the walls, the smell of frying meat filled his nose and made his mouth water. One could say many things about Belarus, but at least she knew how to prepare a good meal out of few resources. It was probably something she had picked up from Ukraine.

“How long until breakfast?” Russia asked cheerfully, placing the bottles by the fireplace.

“Mhm… still some while.”

“Then I will take a walk meanwhile!”

Belarus glanced up from the food. “Don’t you want to stay and talk?”

“Later”, Russia promised, backing up slowly. “I will be back soon!” Then he spun around and hurried away from the campsite, towards the river. Arriving there, he had to walk further up, into the forest, before he found a place narrow enough to leap across. When he was standing on the opposite bank, he glanced back, taking notice of just where he was.

There was no track to lead him, but then again it was not that hard to find his way, even though the forest was quite dense at this side. More than once he pushed between some branches, only to find a tree blocking his way.

Eventually he made it to the edge of the forest where he found the shelter he was looking for. Circling around it, it took him some moments to find the entrance. When he did, he had to dig it forth, and then use force to move the stiff ropes and branches. The daylight that had grown during the time he spent in the forest, flowed into the shelter, illuminating a dead fireplace and four ice statues.

Latvia was huddled against Estonia, and some electronics were sitting in the latter’s lap. Even in the form of an ice statue, Latvia appeared cold and suffering. Estonia wore his ever-calm expression. Poland and Lithuania looked both strange and somewhat gracious as they were frozen, holding hands and dancing. Poland was laughing, while Lithuania had a smile of enjoyment.

Carefully Russia approached the dancing ones. His shadow fell on their faces, but it changed little. He held a smile of his own. Was he really happy? Thoroughly he studied his current feelings, and found that, indeed, he was as close to happiness as he could be. Not because Lithuania was frozen solid, but because he had enjoyed his last moments.

“Is it nice?” Russia questioned the quiet shelter. “Being cold? Do you hear anything at all?”

Silence was his only answer.

“I wonder if I could turn to ice like you. Is it painful?”

Still silence.

He laughed softly. “I guess I will never know, da? Fate always keeps me suffering.” Turning around, he left the shelter. Slowly he made his way back through the forest, following his previous tracks. He leapt across the river, but stopped there to look around. It was so quiet and tranquil. No sound of birds or small animals, nor of snow falling off branches that could hold no more. It was as if everything had frozen.

“What a strange choice of place”, he whispered. His next thought made him laugh. He let his head fall back and stared up towards the pale blue sky. “Germany probably had no idea what would happen! How long will it take before he notices, I wonder, and what will he do about it?”


	19. Germany

#  **Chapter 18**

_Germany_

Germany’s thoughts were running at high speed, despite the confusion threatening to overcome him. What did Italy mean when he said they were all freezing and turning to ice? Surely, that must be some sort of metaphor. Was this survival test really that difficult?

He glanced down at the Italian leaning against him, and pulled away slightly. Italy neither moved nor said anything. Was it just the light toying with his sight, or was Italy’s hair turning… white?

“Italy. You should take a bath and change into warm clothes. We can talk afterwards.”

Silence.

“Italy.”

Still no reply.

Germany sighed and grabbed Italy’s arm to help him up. The fabric felt unnaturally stiff and cold to the touch. Frowning, he leant down to have a look at Italy’s face. It was white. Not pale, like the skin of one who had stayed indoor for too long, but white like snow. As he watched, the tip of Italy’s nose turned pale blue.

Realizing his hand was growing very cold, Germany jerked away. “Italy!” He tried to remove Italy’s hat. It did not budge. “Good grief…” It had not been metaphors. They were really turning into ice. His thoughts immediately went to Prussia, then Japan. He jumped to his feet, but sopped, hesitating. What would happen if Italy turned to ice inside the warm living room? Would he… melt?

Taking a decision, he got a grip of the ice statue and manoeuvred it through the living room and out on the balcony. Then he rushed back inside. He put on winter clothes, put the collars on the dogs, grabbed a headlight and hurried outside. The dogs ran around him as he stopped for a second, staring out in the darkness.

As though on clue, the faint sound of someone calling his name reached him. The voice sounded vaguely familiar. Even his dogs thought so, as their ears perked up and they began getting impatient. He switched on the headlight. It illuminated less than he wished for, but it was good enough.

“Germany!”

Finding about where the voice came from, he hurried through the snow. His hand was turning freezing, despite the glove, and the cold was spreading up his arm. He shivered slightly and sped up to a brisk pace. All of a sudden, his dogs disappeared from the light. Grumbling, he stopped.

“Berlitz! Aster! Blackie!”

“Germany?”

He frowned, taking a few more steps. He was standing just below the cliff that separated the shore from the meadow above. Glancing along the wall, he found the dogs standing there, scratching the icy rock, as though they were trying to climb it. Turning the headlight up, he found dark brown orbs staring back at him from a white face, framed with black hair.

“I saw your cabin”, Japan said. “But when I sped up, I nearly fell over this edge. I was going to find a way down when I spotted you.”

Germany nodded. “Where are the others?”

Sadness filled Japan’s face. “Hong Kong fell into the river by accident. When we got him back to the camp, he was already freezing. In an attempt to heat him, China slept close to him. This morning, they were both solid ice. South Korea is very likely frozen by now. Not even warmth helped against it. I think I will freeze very soon as well.”

“Stay there”, Germany ordered. “I will come up in a moment.” He turned his attention away from Japan and hurried along the cliff. It was long, and not before walking about two hundred meters did he find a way up. Then he jogged back to where he had left Japan.

He was slightly dismayed to find Japan standing there, very still and not moving the slightest. Letting out a puff of air, his shoulders slumped slightly. There had not even been time to ask if he knew where Prussia was.

Turning to the darkness around him, he felt hopeless. Italy was turning to ice. Japan was turning to ice. He did not know where Prussia was – if Prussia was even still unfrozen. And the unnatural cold that had began in his hand, had now spread up his arm and across his chest. 


	20. Denmark

#  **Chapter 19**

_Denmark_

Denmark was startled awake by Norway’s voice. He groaned, rubbing his eyes. The fire was burning, throwing a warm light around the cave. From the doorway, Norway’s voice reached him. For once, there was a jumble of emotions filling it. The words were Old Norse, and Denmark recognized some of them.

He sat up, finding the Norwegian by the entrance, back at them. He was now speaking so fast, the words passed by in a blur. In a brief second, Denmark could swear he spotted pulsing blue light in the air before Norway, then, when he blinked, it disappeared, and he brushed it off as only light and tiredness. Getting up, he hurried over and put a hand at Norway’s shoulder.

Norway jumped and spun around, looking as though he was about to yell the first curse coming to his mind. The face he pulled, was not the usual mask. It was one of dread. When he found Denmark’s face, he appeared to calm down a little, and his face slowly turned expressionless. “Let me finish my work.” Just like that, he pushed Denmark away.

“What work?” Denmark questioned. “You’re just talking to the entrance.”

“It’s a shield. Spells of protection, you dot”, Norway replied, throwing himself into another long strip of Old Norse.

Denmark glanced to Iceland, feeling completely clueless. Iceland looked worried. Was it because Norway was talking about that magic-stuff again? Probably not. Even though Iceland never freely admitted to share any traits with Norway, it was common knowledge to the Nordics that the youngest was able to see… whatever creatures and spells Norway, England and Romania constantly talked about.

Norway pulled away from the entrance, glaring warily at it.

“What’s going on?” Denmark asked, hoping to finally get an answer. “And where are Sweden and Finland? How long did I sleep?”

“Many hours”, Norway replied. He returned to the fireplace, sitting down and opening his jacket a little. “It appears we’re being hunted.”

“Hunted?” Curious now, Denmark sat down at his earlier sleeping place.

“Eaven. The Black Spirit who’s heart is frozen.”

Denmark glanced between Norway and Iceland. “Not funny, guys. I didn’t ask for a ghost story!”

“It’s not a ghost story”, Iceland replied soberly, for once giving his full attention to them. “If he is here, though, I’d wish it was one.”

“He’s here”, Norway confirmed. “He has taken Sweden and Finland, and there is no telling what has happened to the others. England and Romania might keep a stand against him, but the rest… They’ll be dead within hours.”

“Okay, guys. Can we take this from the start? Who is Eaven? What does it mean, he has taken Sweden and Finland?”

“Eaven is a very old spirit”, Iceland replied, taking it upon himself to tell the tale. “No one knows where he came from or how he came to be. He just appears in some ancient tales. He always lives in desolated cold places. He can split up and be many places at once. He used to hunt wanderers coming astray during the night. The only thing that would keep him away, was fire. And belief. As long as you had fire and believed it would keep him away, he could not touch you.

“If he takes you, however, he will turn you into an ice statue. Even one touch will turn you into ice, after some period of inhuman cold. Usually between one and twenty-four hours. Then you’re out cold. Literally.”

“Funny story, Icey”, Denmark replied, for once not smiling. All he wanted was for it to be a lie. “What happened to Sve and Fin?”

“They’re ice statues”, Iceland snapped. “And if you don’t take care, you’ll be one too!”

Norway nodded slightly, staring into the flames. Then he straightened, resolution showing in his eyes. He got up and searched the pile of wood, finding three sticks that could work as torches. Then he gathered an armload of wood, dropped it by the fire and began peeling the bark off.

“Why are you making torches?” Denmark questioned.

“We must go find England and Romania.”

Iceland frowned. “You’re not going to banish Eaven, are you?”

Norway’s lack of answer was answer enough.

“That’ll kill you!” Iceland exclaimed. “It’ll take too much of your power, and then-”

“Shut it”, Norway snapped.

Denmark’s eyebrows rose slightly. Was Norway getting angry? He glanced between Iceland and Norway for some moments, before deciding to help Norway debark the firewood. Iceland looked like he wanted to protest, and he probably had some good argument at hand too, but he stayed his tongue and only glared at them.

Once the bark was bound tightly around the three sticks Norway had first found, they put fire to them. Quickly they packed up only the things they thought they would need.

Outside, it was quieting down a little. The worst of the storm had passed by, leaving dead silence. They took one torch each, and Norway broke the shield he had been talking of earlier. Cold air rushed to meet them. Then Norway set off, moving far quicker than was physically safe. Even Demark had problems keeping up, not to mention Iceland who had not had the same amount of experience as them.

Soon the river came into view between the spruces. Norway trudged on, not minding the statues at the bank. Both Denmark and Iceland, however, stood frozen upon the sight. When they realized Norway had already disappeared in between the trees at the opposite side of the river, they hurried after, crossing the river with varying degree of elegance.

“Nor!” Denmark called. “Slow down a little! We have to stay tog-” He burst through a wall of branches and nearly crashed into Norway.

“Quiet down”, Norway hissed, his face only inches away. “We don’t want Eaven at our heels already.” He spun around and continued, but at a more moderate pace this time.

Breathing out, Denmark followed him, making sure Iceland was with them.

The landscape sloped down as they left the river behind. What trail Norway was following, Denmark could not tell. All he knew, was that there was a scary cold presence just behind them. At one point he glanced behind, spotting a pair of violet lights. They disappeared the moment he turned around, and no matter how much he looked, he did not see them again. Deciding to keep it to himself, he quickly caught up with Norway and Iceland.

Everything appeared to be going just according to plan, when Norway suddenly stopped. The forest was not as dense, and the torches lit up more than they had hoped for. Of course, now that Denmark thought about it, they could have used the flashlights. That would have given them even more view of the surroundings.

Norway came back, walked back some steps, then stopped. He wandered about in a circle, until ordering them with backs against each other.

His behaviour was rather unnatural. It scared Denmark.

Violet lights floated in between the shadows of the spruces. All around them. Four pairs, no, five, six, seven… Denmark stopped counting.

“Stay calm”, Norway ordered. “As long as you keep the torch between yourself and him, he can’t touch you.”

The lights approached, breaking out of the shadows. Around them, darkness whirled. The shapes were constantly changing, so Denmark could not decide exactly what it was he was up against. Maybe “spirit” was not such a bad word for it, after all.

Eaven, the lights, continued approaching. Denmark sprung forth, swinging his torch. Eaven pulled back.

“Don’t break out of formation!” Norway exclaimed.

Returning, Denmark noticed how Eaven was closing in on the other two as well. Then the spirits before him quite literally attacked him and he got his hands full with keep them at bay. Cold air blew around his ears, tickling his neck.

He swung wildly with the torch. The cold sensation disappeared. The spirits floated together, creating one large. To his right, Iceland called something. Norway replied from his left. He slashed out with the torch, creating a gash in the shadow. Dismayed, he watched as the spirit grew together again.

Iceland screamed.

Distracted, Denmark batted away a black tentacle of an arm while trying to catch sight of Iceland. Where had he disappeared? And what was that spirit doing? It looked nearly as though it was… packing something in. A torch lay extinguished on the ground.

His neck turned to ice. Gasping for air, he spun around, hitting Eaven between the eyes with the torch. Eaven pulled back, giving Denmark enough time to grip his throat. It was still freezing cold, and the chill was quickly spreading. When he removed his hand, he found it was already turning white.

Fuck.

Throwing himself around, he dashed for where Eaven was surrounding Iceland. He thrust his torch into the black shadow, then watched it melt off Iceland’s body. Iceland was turning pale blue. Quickly, Denmark pulled in closer, lifting his torch defensively.

But there was nothing to defend against. Eaven had disappeared.

Out of nowhere, Norway rushed towards them. “God, no”, he breathed. He reached out towards them, then recoiled, pain in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I should’ve paid more mind to you. Please…”

“G-go”, Iceland stuttered, his voice weak. “Find R-Romania and En-England. B-banish Eaven.”

Norway swallowed, stepping back. His gaze met Denmark’s.

“Go”, Denmark said, forcing a smile. “I’ll watch over Icey. Be a hero.”

Shaking his head wordlessly, Norway spun around and set off in between the trees.


	21. England

#  **Chapter 20** ****

_ England _

He hurried along, walking just behind the tracker. It bounced between the spruces, constantly just in sight. England’s thoughts drifted to New Zealand and Australia, huddled together in the tree. America and Canada, holding each other in the shed. France’s frozen face. “Bloody frog”, he muttered to himself, blinking rapidly to keep the stinging from his eyes.

In between the trees, he spotted a red coat, contrasting green gloves and a mop of brown hair. “Romania!” he called out.

Romania turned and hope lit up his face. He rushed towards England, catching him off-guard in a bone-crushing embrace. England blinked surprised, then patted Romania’s back awkwardly.

“You’re alive!” was the first thing Romania said when pulling back. He was looking more surprised and relieved than anything. There were tracks of tears on his face. “Moldova and Bulgaria, they…” His lower lip began to tremble.

“I know”, England hurriedly said. “America too. And Canada and France.” And a lot of others. Was there even a chance Norway was still able to conjure a spell?

Romania swallowed, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “What’s going on? Is this that spirit Norway likes to tell ghost stories of?”

England thought about it, pulling forth his memories of times spent with Norway. “The Black Spirit with a frozen heart”, he remembered. “It has to be.”

“But he’s invincible!” Romania wailed.

“He cannot be,” England replied shortly. “We are going to banish him and lift this bloody spell. We just have to find Norway, and-”

He did not even have time to finish, before Norway came dashing towards them, snow dancing around his legs. He came to a sudden halt before them, gasping for air. “Not… frozen?” he managed, leaning on his knees while catching his breath. There was a blue light bobbing in the air beside him, as well as a burned torch in his hand.

“Still breathing”, England replied.

Norway straightened. He confirmed their suspicions of the Black Spirit with a frozen heart, quickly retelling the tale of what he knew about it. Then, very suddenly, he went pale, staring at something behind them.

England glanced back. Darkness. Lifting his gaze, he found two bright violet lamps staring back at him. His mouth dropped open. Beside him, Romania whimpered. Norway taking his hand brought him back to his senses, and he was about to pull away.

“We must join powers”, Norway commanded.

Slowly, England nodded. Then he grabbed Romania’s hand. A sudden cold grip of his neck made him gasp and squirm. Ice spread up and down from his throat. Norway had began speaking. A spell. Joining in, England felt his powers surge through his veins, flowing out as soft green light. Unconsciously, he closed his eyes. The back of his eyelids was illuminated by the white light of their powers blending.

The cold spread through his body, and then, all at once, everything stopped. 


	22. Epilogue

#  **Epilogue** ****

Warmth. When did he last feel warm? Italy could not remember. His eyes fluttered open. There was light above him. Lots of it. Sunlight. And snow. Everything was so bright, he had to shield his eyes as he slowly got up.

He glanced about. There was the shore, and there was the ocean. Yes, of course. After Spain and Roma froze, he had gone looking for Germany. He had told Germany everyone was freezing, and then… Nothing.

Italy felt his body. His face, his arms, his chest. He was warm. He was alive. He laughed, throwing his head back. Never had it felt this good, being warm.

“Italy!”

Turning around, he found Germany and Japan coming towards him at a quick speed. He found the stairs off the balcony and dashed towards them. Aster, Berlitz and Blackie where the first ones to meet him. Then he crashed into Japan first, and Germany second. He tried wrapping his arms around both of them, but was too small. That was fine, though. Because they were alive.

“You’re warm”, he breathed. “Ve…”

“So are you”, Japan replied with a soft laugh.

“How are you?” Germany questioned. “You are not cold anymore?”

“Not anymore”, Italy replied. “But I could still use something warm to drink, and made some pasta?”

“Of course.”

“Should we not go look for the others?” Japan inquired. “Make sure they are all right?”

“They will come back to the cabin”, Germany replied. “After this experience, I do not think they will wish to stay out any longer, no matter how many training programs I have made.”

Italy snorted. “Let’s go.”

 

Barely two hours later, everyone had somehow managed to press together in the cabin. Italy was sitting together with Germany, Prussia, Roma and Spain. There was hugging and sentimentality everywhere. England was scolding America, Canada, France, New Zealand and Australia, ending with saying how glad he was they were alive. Romania was holding Moldova tightly while talking with Bulgaria. Norway was expressing his relief that the other Nordics were fine.

Lithuania, Poland, Estonia and Latvia were sitting together, very quiet but enjoying each other’s company. Russia was close by, as was Belarus. Ukraine was talking to Turkey. Greece was refusing to let go of Cyprus, while Egypt was trying to make him let go. Cameroon was watching with a puzzled expression.

Belgium was tucked into a blanket, leaning against Netherlands, as was Luxembourg. Liechtenstein was sitting at Switzerland’s lap, having her hair dried. China was keeping a very close eye on the other Asians, and especially Hong Kong who appeared to have caught a cold from the fall into the river. Hungary and Austria sat close, sharing a blanket and enjoying the warmth.

“It’s so nice that everyone is together”, Italy stated. “And everyone is so happy!”

“But I would like to hear exactly what turned me into an un-awesome ice statue!” Prussia said, straightening. “Norway! England! Romania! How did you unfreeze us?”

The question was picked up by more, and soon the trio had an expecting audience at hand.

“I’ve got nothing to say”, Romania said with a shrug. “I did quite little. England or Norway should tell the story.”

“Norway should”, England corrected. “He was the first to know exactly what made us freeze like we did.”

Norway sighed.

“Go ahead!” Denmark urged with a grin. “Everyone’s curious.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I honestly hope you enjoyed it.  
> It would be great if I got some constructive feedback, so I know if there is anything I will have to work on, and if there is anything I did well!
> 
> Once again, thank you, readers, for sticking with me.  
> Sincerely,  
> Katrine Laclyon


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